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TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL 

SKETCHES 



OF THE 



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♦ WORCESTER MAGAZINE 



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PRINTED BY ROGERS & GRIFFIN, 
FOR THE PUBLISHERS OE THE MAGAZINE AND JOURNAL. 

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HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 



In attempting a work .ike the history of any town in the interi- 
or of New England, great difficulties are to be encountered. The 
records of many are so imperfect, that they often serve rather to 
perplex, than enlighten the enquirer. Traditions have often be- 
come too vague and uncertain to be relied on with any degree of 
confidence, and the threads by which the labyrinth of events is to 
be traced, are often broken, or irrecoverably lost. 

Notwithstanding these difficulties and discouragements, we have 
attempted to give, somewhat fully, the description and historical 
memoranda of the town of Leicester. 

We have been prompted to this, more from feelings of local in- 
terest and attachment, than from any hope of literary reputation, 
or, much less, of profit. The graves of our fathers are here ; and 
we felt a curiosity to trace, not only their histories, but also those 
of all who were their cotemporaries, and acted or suffered with 
them. We felt desirous of snatching from oblivion, events con- 
nected with the history of our country, and preserving the names 
of men whose merits deserve a place on its pages. We have met 
with obstacles in accomplishing our task, which we could not sur- 
mount, and have often been compelled to present extremely imper- 
fect sketches where justice seemed to require a complete detail. 
We acknowledge ourselves indebted for many favors in performing 
the work proposed. Every one whose age gave him a knowledge 
of events previous to our own day, has been pretty liberally taxed 



4 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

for the material? of this work. We have also to acknowledge our- 
selves under obligations to H. G. Henshaw, Esq. for the use of the 
valuable papers of the late Col. Wm. Henshaw. 

We cannot better acknowledge the aid received from the Hon. 
Edwad D. Bangs, Esq. Secretary of the Commonwealth, than by 
transcribing the following letter politely forwarded in answer to 
enquiries made for information respecting the incorporation of the 
town of Leicester. " Agreeably to your request, I have examined 
into the particulars which were wanted respecting Leicester. It 
appears, as was the case with most towns at that period, that there 
never was a formal act of Incorporation. The votes by which the 
settlement was constituted a town, and received its name of Leices- 
ter, I have copied, and now transmit to you. In June, 1714, a sur- 
vey and plan of the town was reported to the General Court by 
John Chandler, Esq. was accepted, and is on file. I have looked 
for the old Indian deed, mentioned in the vote of the General 
Court, but it is not to be found. My copy is exactly correct, unless 
it should be the Indian names, which it is very difficult to decypher. 
I believe, however, they are right, or nearly so." 

f^xtract from General Court records, under date of February 
15, 1713. " The following order passed; in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, read and concurred : viz. Upon reading a petition of 
Joshua Lamb, Richard Draper, Samuel Ruggles, Benjamin Tucker, 
and others, setting forth, that upon the twenty seventh day of Jan- 
uary, 1686, for a valuable consideration therefor paid, they pur- 
chased of Philip Traye,* and Monckhue,* his wife, John Wanpom,* 
and Wawonnovv,* his wife, and other Indians, the heirs of Ooras- 
hoe,* (be origfinal Sachem of a place, Towtaid, lying near Worces- 
ter, a certain tract of land, containing eight miles square, abutting, 
southerly on the land which the Governor lately purchased of the 
Indians, and westerly, the most southerly corner, upon a little 
pond, called Paupogquincog* ; then to a little hill, called Wehape- 
katonauc* ; and from thence to a little hill, called Aspompok* ; and 
so then easterly, upon a line, until it came against Worcester 
bounds, and joins unto their bounds ; as may be seen more at large 
by the original deed, executed by the said Indians Proprietors, and 
acknowledged before the Hon. William Stoughton, Esq. praying 
confirmation of the said tract of land to them and their associates, 
that they may be encouraged to proceed forthwith to settle the 

* The Indian names designated by an asterisk are difficult to be decypher- 
ed, and may not be copied with perfect accuracy. 



\ - 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. O 

same with inhabitants, under such directions and reservations as 
shall be thought meet ; 

Ordered, That the Prayer of the Petitioners be granted ; Pro- 
vided, that within seven years time, fifty families settle themselves 
in as defensible and regular a way as the circumstances of the place 
will allow, on part of the said land ; and that a sufficient quantity 
thereof be reserved for the use of a Gospel ministry there, and a 
school; Provided also, that this interfere with no former grant, 
and this grant shall not exceed the quantity of eight miles square. 
The town to be named Leicester, and to belong to the County of 
Middlesex. Consented to : 

J. DUDLEY. 

" A true Copy from the proceedings of Council, under date of 
February 15, 1713, as recorded in Vol. 8, of General Court Re- 
cords, pages 351-332. Attest, 

EDWARD D. BANGS, Secr->y 

of the Commonwealth.^'' 

We are the more gratified in having been favored with the 
foregoing copy of the record, as we are thus able to correct some 
errors in dates, into which Mr. Whitney has fallen, in his history 
of this town. The deed from the Indians we have not been able 
to find, and as the original grantees never, we believe, removed 
here, it probably never formed any part of the records of the town. 

This tract, thus granted, had been called by the English, who 
had visited it, " Strawberry Hill," previous to the act of the Gen- 
eral Court, above recited. 

The particular boundaries of the town were fixed by a special 
act of the General Court, in January, 1714.* 

The proprietors of the township held a meeting, in Boston, on 
the 23d February, 1713, to take measures to secure their grant, 
and voted for this purpose to give the eastern half of the town to 
the first fifty families which should settle there, within the peri- 
od specified by the act. And in 1722, they again met and author- 
ized Col. Joshua Lamb,t Samuel Green, Nathaniel Kanney, and 

* Whitney. 

t Col. Joshua Lamb was an enterprising and wealthy citizen, of Roxbury. 
He was largely interested in the unincorporated lands of the state He, to- 
gether with others belonging to Roxbury, were at one time proprietors of 
what is now Hardwick, which, for many years was called after him, Lambs- 
toivn. He never removed to Leicester, but his descendants have resided in 
Spencer, and one of them, bearing the same name, is at present one of the 
Selectmen of Leicester. 



b HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

Samuel Tyler, to execute deeds to the families who had removed 
to the town, and a deed was accordingly executed on the 8th day 
of January, 1722, to John Stebbins, and forty six others, which 
deed is said to be recorded in the Registry of Deeds, for the Coun- 
ty of Middlesex, to which county this town then belonged — Book 
29, page 329. The measure of the town proved to be what sur- 
veyors call " large," and though the western half of it was set off, 
in 1753, into a town, by the name of Spencer, and two miles in 
width of its northern part taken off, in 1765, to constitute a part of 
Paxton, and about 2500 acres again taken off from its southeastern 
corner, to form a part of the town of Ward, it still contains 14,426 
acres. 

Many of the original proprietors of the town were the ances- 
tors of families, bearing the same name, now residing here, and 
among the most respectable in town, some of whose names we may 
hereafter have occasion to mention.* 

Boundaries. — Leicester is bounded, on the norih by Paxton, the 
line dividing which towns runs east, two and one half degrees 
south, twelve hundred and six rods; east, by the town of Wor- 
cester, by a line running south, about fifteen degrees east, 
and thirteen hundred and eighty four and one half rods on 
Worcester ; southeast by Ward, by a line running east, two de- 
grees fifty minutes north, one hundred and fifty six rods, fif- 
teen links, and north, thirty nine degrees forty five minutes east, 
two hundred and eighty eight rods, and north, thirty seven and one 
half degrees east, five hundred and eighty rodst ; south, by Oxford 
north gore and Charlton, by a line running west, one and a quarter 
degrees north, seven hundred and twenty rods ; and west, by Spen- 
cer, by a line running north, four degrees west, two thousand 
and thirty two rods. The town is seven miles from the Court 
house, in Worcester, in a direction a little south of west. It is for- 
ty five miles from Boston, and the same distance from North- 
ampton. 

Face of the Country. — This town has been considered remark- 

* Among these were Daniel Livermore, (who was the great-grandfather 
of the present Messrs. Daniel and Salem Livermore,) Joshua Henshaw, 
Samuel Green, Daniel Denny, David Henshaw, Ralph Earle, and Richard 
Southgate. 

+ A part of the line between Ward and Leicester is now in dispute. We 
give the lines according to a survey, taken in 1794, by vote of the town, by 
Reuben Swan and Timothy Sprague, and protracted by Mr. Peter Siltesler, 
who haa been long engaged a^ a surveyor in this town. 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 7 

able for its hilly and uneven surface ; this opinion has arisen from 
the circumstance, that ail the principal roads leading through it, 
have been made over the most considerable elevations ot land, and 
give to the weary traveller the impression that the whole of its 
territory is of that character. The face of the town is, indeed, 
uneven, and lying upon the height of land between Boston and Con- 
necticut river, it is quite elevated. Yet there are no very high 
hills, or abrupt elevations of land above the general surface of the 
country. Some of the most considerable of the hills have received 
names by custom and tradition, by which they are usually designat- 
ed. That upon which the Congregational Meeting House is built, 
was originally called Strawberry hill, trom the abundance of that 
fruit found there in the early settlement of the town. Another, in 
the east part of the town, a little north of the " county road," is 
known by the name of " Indian" or " Bald hill," on account of its 
having been cleared and planted by the Indians before the white 
men settled here. The hill about one mile west from the Meet- 
ing house, has been, for many years, known by the name of "Mount 
Pleasant."* It had, within a few years, an elegant house upon it, 
fitted up as a country seat, by Maj. James Swan, who has long been 
a state prisoner in France. The seat has now gone greatly to de- 
cay, but is still an interesting spot, on account of the extensive and 
beautiful prospect it enjoys. 

Another hill, which is about half a mile north from the Meeting 
House, has been known by the name of "-Carey's hill," from the 
earliest settlement of the town ; and derives its name from that of a 
hermit, who retired to this spot, long before it was settled by Eu- 
ropeans, and lived in a cave, which he dug in the hill. AVho he 
was, and how much of his story is mere tradition, we are not able 
to determine. But the well from which he drew his water, the 
ditch by which he drained his cave, and the stones that helped to 
form his dwelling, are all visible there at this day. Moose hill is 
at the northwest corner, and Grass hill at the southwest corner of 
the town. The views from many of the hills in this town are ex- 
tremely fine. That from the Mansion house, on the estate which 
has been in the Denny family since the settlement of the town, 
embraces nine or ten churches, besides a vast extent of beautiful 
and fertile country. This landscape has formed a subject for the 

* It -was first called Mount Pleasant by Lewis Allen, a singular man, who 
once owned the seat, afterwards Major Swan's. 13y his own direction, he 
was buried in his garden, where his tomb is yet visible. 



8 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

pencil of a native artist, of very considerable merit and reputation, 
Mr. Ralph Earle,* who had resided many years in England, where 
he went, together with his brother, to cultivate the natural taste 
and genius they possessed. This landscape is a very creditable ef- 
fort at painting- of that kind. 

Soil, Productions, &c. — The soil of Leicester is generally- 
deep, and of a strong kind ; in its composition, clay rather predom- 
inates ; and although, at first, wrought with some difficulty, it is ca- 
pable of becoming fruitful and luxuriant, since it retains the ferti- 
lizing effect of proper cultivation for a considerable time. It is 
rather moist in some parts of the town, and better adapted to grass, 
which it produces in abundance, than grains; especially those 
which are called English grains. There are, however, many fine 
and productive farms in town, and nothing but a proper attention to 
agriculture is required, to elevate its character as an agricultural 
district. Mechanical business has, for years, been more productive 
of profit than agriculture, under any circumstances, could reasonably 
be expected to be ; and in consequence of this, the agricultural in- 
terest has been neglected. Within our own riecoUection, some of 
the most productive lands at present, were little better than mere 
wastes, where the briars and bushes were the only productions of 
the soil.t We mention this circumstance to show, by the result of 
actual experiment, the capacities of the soil of the town, better 
than by any general description of its properties we could give. 
Garden vegetables thrive extremely well, and abundant crops of 
Indian corn and potatoes reward the labors of the husbandman : 
and in the north and east parts of the town there are many excel- 
lent orchards. 

* Ralph, and James Earle, were grandsons of that Ralph Earle who was 
one of the original settlers of the town. Their father's name was Ralph, who 
lived in what is now Paxton, on the place owned by Mr. Joseph Penniman. 
Ralph was made a member of the Royal Academy, in London. Both he, and 
James, excelled as much in portrait painting, as in landscape and historical 
pieces. The " Falls of Niagara," by Ralph, among his largest works, has 
been admired as one of much merit. Towards the close of his life, his habits 
became irregular, and it was only at intervals, that his fine genius exhibited 
itself, and then, always to the delight of every one. He died at Lansinburgh, 
N. Y. and his brother James, at Charleston, S. C. Both left families, but 
only the son of Ralph, bearing the same name, iaherited the peculiar genius 
of his ancestors. 

+ We cannot forbear noticing the great improvements which have recently 
been made in the lands near the village, by Mr. Alpheus Smith, Dr. Austin 
Flint, and others. Within a few years, the bushes entirely covered those 
fields which now produce so luxuriantly. A similar effect would result (o 
most of the lands in town, by applying to them the same skill and persever- 
ing industry. 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. y 

Rivers, Ponds, &c. — This town is well watered, although there 
is no stream of any great magnitude flowing through it. The sourc- 
es of several streams are within this town, which, taking different 
directions, pour its waters into the Atlantic by the Blackstone, the 
Thames, and the Connecticut. So slight are the barriers that sep- 
arate the waters of some of these streams, that, about a quarter of 
a mile east of the Meeting House, where the county road passes 
through an apparently level meadow, the water that runs from the 
north side flows into the Blackstone, while that from the south runs 
into the Thames. And, in the west part of the town, about two 
miles from the Meeting House, the water running from the north 
side of the same road, flows into the Connecticut, and that from the 
south side into the Thames. 

There are two natural ponds of considerable magnitude here ; 
one, containing about sixty acres, situate about a mile southeast of 
the Meeting House, called the Henshaw pond ; and the other, con- 
taining about eighty acres, called the North, or Shaw pond, in the 
northwest part of the town. The waters of the last pond are dis- 
charged at its southwest corner, and flow into the Chickapee river, 
forming one of its sources. There is, besides these, an artificial 
pond, in the southwest part of the town, called the "Burnt-coat," 
containing about one hundred and twenty five acres. The courses 
of the streams, except that from north pond, are generally towards 
the southeast. One of these rises in a swamp between Leicester 
and Paxton, and, running south, about half a mile west of the Meet- 
ing House, where it is called the " Rawson Brook,"* it receives 
the waters that flow from the Burnt-coat pond, about five miles 
from its source ; thence, running southeasterly, it receives the wa- 
ters of a brook coming in from the west, which has its source in 
Spencer, and afterwards receives the waters from the Henshaw 
pond, which flow from the northeast, at the Leicester and Saxon 
Factories, on the Slaff"ord Turnpike, where it is called " French 
river ;" then running southwardly through Oxford, it forms a part 
of the Quineboag river, which empties into the Thames, at Nor- 
wich. This unites a great proportion of the waters that flow 

* It derived this name from that of the owner of the farm through which 
it flowed, near the villagfe, ia Leicester. This was Edward Rawson, p]sq. 
who removed here from Mendon. He was, for a long time, an officiating 
magistrate in the County, and filled many responsible public stations in the 
town. He died at the advanced age of 87, in 1807, leaving one daughter. 
A son of his was once a practising Physician here, but died, early in life, ma- 
ny years before the death of his father, 



L 



10 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

througU the town. There is, however, a considerable stream that 
rises in Paxton, and flows through the east part of this town, into 
Ward, and there falls into the Blackstone. It is called " Kettle 
Brook," and affords sufficient water power to carry a grist mill and 
saw mill, two woollen factories, and another grist mill, built upon 
it in this town. From the nature of the country, these streams 
present fine privileges for the erection of mills, wherever they are 
of sufficient magnitude to ensure a permanent supply of water. 
These have been mostly occupied, and there are, at present, upon 
the French river, and its branches, within the limits of this town, 
five saw mills, two grist mills, one tannery, two scythe manufacto- 
ries, one card manufactory, and one extensive woollen manufactur- 
ing establishment ; while, on the stream flowing from the North 
Pond, there are a grist mill, and two wire manufactories. 

Population. — The population of this town has gradually in- 
creased in numbers from its settlement till the present time ; but 
much more rapidly of late, than at any former period, on account 
of the manufacturing establishments, from which a large number 
find employment and support. We do not possess documents to as- 
certain the precise numbers of Inhabitants in the town at the differ- 
ent periods of its history ; nor do we deem these very important 
facts. At its first settlement it contained fifty families. In 1786, 
there were 838 inhabitants, of whom, 24 were negroes. In 1810, 
there were 1181 ; in 1820, 1252, and, at present, the town probably 
contains 1500 inhabitants; of whom, there are not more than 3 or 
4 blacks.* In 1781, there were 102 effective men on the rolls of 
the militia companies, and 49 conditional exempts, and at present, 
there are about 200 men borne on the rolls of these companies.! 

The population, as we remarked, has increased rapidly in this 
town within the last few years, and promises to increase still far- 

* The population of this town includes, at present, three ministers of the 
Gospel, two Physicians, two Preceptors of the Academy, and two practising 
Counsellors and Attorneys at Law. Of the Clerg;ymen, we shall hereafter 
speak. The Physicians are Austin and Edward Flint, the latter a son of the 
former. The Attorneys at Law are the Hon. Nathaniel P. Denny, who was 
the first Attorney that established himself here, and Emory Washburn. 
Bradford Sumner, Esq. now of Boston, was in business here, as an Attorney 
at Law, from 1812 till his removal to Boston, in 1820. 

+ The first regimental review of the regiment to which these companies 
are attached, was, we believe, in 1785. The Regiment then included -within 
its limits, the towns of Holden, Paxton, Spencer, Leicester, Ward and Wor- 
cester. It was divided in 1811, and Worcester and Holden taken from it. 
The regiment when reviewed in 1785 was commanded by Col. Seth Wash- 
burn. At present Lieut. Col. Stone of Ward is its commander. 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 1 1 

ther, as new sources of wealth and support are opening to its in- 
haiiitants from time to time. A considerable proportion of this pop- 
ulation derives its su[)[)ort, directly, or indirectly, from mechanical 
and manufacturing establishments, in which many of them are en- 
gaged. 

Manufactures, Traoe, &,c. — The manufactures consist cliicfily 
of cards and woollen cloths, although the more common establish- 
lishments for the ma:.uf.icture of leather, scythes, and the like, are 
by no means inconsiderable. There are live Blacksmith's shops, 
in which from eight to twelve men are employed in the ordinary 
business of that trade. There are from ten to twenty persons em- 
ployed in manufiicturing shoes for the ordinary consumption of the 
inhabitants of the town. In addition to these, there are two hat- 
ter's shops, two wheelwrights, two bookbinderies, one clock and 
watch maker, and one cabinet and chair manufactory. 

There are live tanneries, in which leather to the amount of 
^10,000, at least, is annually manufactured; and the amount of 
scythes annually made here is about ^2000. 

The manufacture of cloths was commenced here by Mr. Samu- 
el Watson, in 1814, about one and an half miles east of the Meet- 
ing House, on the " Kettle Brook." His establishment was small, 
and the business, soon afterwards, becoming rather unproductive, 
he was induced to part with the possession of it, for a few years, 
to Mr. James Anderton, a native of Lancashire, in England, an en- 
terprising manufacturer, who, in the year 1821, purchased the 
privilege now occupied by the Leicester and Saxon factories, on 
the French River, where a small cotton factory had been previous- 
ly erected. He then made over his interest on the Kettle Brook 
to a countryman of his, Thomas Bottomly, who occupied the same 
until 1825, when, having erected a neiv factory a short distance 
below the forager one, he surrendered up the former estate to Mr. 
Watson again, who now occupies the same. The privilege on 
French River proving to be a valuable one, and Mr. Anderton, from 
an unfavorable turn of times, being unable to occupy the whole of 
it profitably, a company was formed, and incorporated in 1823, cal- 
led the "Leicester Manufacturing Company," to whom he dispos- 
ed of his interest in the privilege, and became a member of the 
corporation. This comj)any afterwards united, and was incorpo- 
rated, with the Saxon Factory, in Framingham, under the style of 
the Saxon and Leicester Factories. This establishn>ent, in Leices- 
ter, consists at present of throe factory buildings, the largest of 

o 



12 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

which H 100 by 40 feet^ and 4 stories in height, a dye house, store, 
eleven dwelling houses, and is now constantly increasing. About 
150 persons are employed in and around the establishnoent, and 100 
yards of Broadcloths are manufactured per day. We have been 
more particular in describing these establishments, although, 
when compared with others in the country, they may seem unim- 
portant, because they have grown up within a short period of time, 
and the success which has, on the whole, attended them, so clearly 
illustrates, what was once a somewhat doubtful problem, the policy 
of encouraging our domestic manufactures. We have also another 
object in view ; to preserve the names of those, to whose skill and 
enterprise the town is indebted for a part of its prosperity. 

The manufacture of cotton and wool machine, and hand cards, 
has been carried on extensively, for a much greater length of time 
than that of cloths. It was commenced here about the year 1785, 
by Mr. Edmund Snow, and amongst those most early engaged in 
its prosecution, was Mr. Pliny Earle, who still carries on the busi- 
ness. About the year 1790, Mr. Samuel Slater, the venerable 
originator of cotton factories in the United States, and to whom the 
couutry owes so much of its wealth and prosperity, having in vain 
endeavored to procure suitable cards for his machinery, in the 
principal cities of the union, applied to Mr. Earle, for the purpose 
of procuring some cards of him. Machine cards had, till then, 
been made in the manner called by manufacturers " plain." A 
part of the cards used on a machine is called " filleting," and this 
part it was desirable to have made, what is termed, "twilled." 
For this purpose, Mr. Earle was obliged to prick the whole of the 
filleting with two needles, inserted into a handle, in the manner of 
an av^l. This process was extremely tedious ; but Mr. Earle, at 
length, completed his undertaking, and furnished to Mr. Slater the 
cards by which the first cotton was wrought, that was spun by ma- 
chinery in America. The difficulty with which he accomplished 
this engagement, led his attention to the invention of a machine by 
which to prick the leather for cards ; and about the year 1797, he 
accomplished his desired object by inventing the machine, now in 
general use, for the manufacture of "twilled" cards.* Since this 

* Pliny Earle is the great grandson of Ralph Earle, one of the first settlers 
of the town, and possesses much of the mechanical ingenuity, in addition to 
a great fund of general knowledge, which has seemed to characterize those 
of that name in this town. Mr. Thomas Earle, who recently died here, was 
honorably noticed by Whitney, in his history, and others of the name also 
deserve a notice, which our limits will not permit us to give. 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 13 

invenliou, and other improvements in machinery, the business of 
inaniilacturiug cards has reg'uiarly progressed, and it was carried to 
great perfection here, while many of the other manufactures were 
yet in their infancy. A few cards had been made in Boston, and 
some other places in the United States, before they were manufac- 
tured here. We believe, that the first considerable establishment 
ever carried on for this purpose in the country, was in this town. 
Our limits would not permit us, even if we were able, to trace the 
improvements in the machinery by the means of which this busi- 
ness is carried on ; though we may be permitted, we hope, to men- 
tion a valuable machine for shaving, or splitting leather, invented 
by the late John Woodcock, of this town; by the operation of 
which, leather may be prepared of any thickness desired, with 
great facility. A patent was procured for this invention, but diffi- 
c .Iiies arose under it, and manufacturers alone have reaped the 
benefit of it. There are ten establishments for the manufacture of 
Cards here, and more than ^200,000 in value are manufactured 
annually. In most of these establishments, the machinery is car- 
ried by hand power; but in Mr. Earle's, before mentioned, steam 
has been successfully employed, and in the extensive Factory of 
Messrs. J. &, J. A. Smith, & Co. a part of the machinery is carried by 
water power. The business has been found lucrative and many 
of our wealthiest and most respectable men have been engaged in 
it, and not a little of the relative wealth and importance of the 
place can be traced to this business as its source. 

There are Stores of goods connected with many of these man- 
ufacturing establishments, and tliere are two Stores in the village 
unconnected with them. Besides these, there are two small Book 
Stores in town, connected with the binderies which supply the or- 
dinary wants of the people. Manufactures, especially Cards, may 
be considered our staple ; and there is scarcely a state in the union 
that is not, to some extent, supplied with these from this town. 
To facilitate the transaction of the business of the town, a Bank 
■ with a capital of ;|5100,000 was chartered at the last session of the 
* Legislature. It has not yet gone into operation, but the Directors 
and President of the iustitution were elected on the 26th April, 
1826, when John Clapp, Esq of Leicester, was chosen its first 
President. 

HiGHiVAYS. — The great post road from Boston to Albany passes 
through the centre of this town. It is one of the most travelled 
and important roads in the interior of New England, and was, until 



14 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 



•within a few years, the route of the commercial Mail between Bos- 
Ion and New York. This road was laid out as early, if we mis- 
take not, as 1722, it being- petitioned for in that year, and the 
town appropriated £12 2* for their share of the expense in making- 
it, and in 1725, were indicted at the Quarter Sessions in Middlesex, 
for not having a bridge over Seven Miie River, which is supposed to 
have been the stream now called by tbe same name, in the western 
part of Spencer. The road is called in the petition the " country 
road," and always bears that name when referred to in the early 
records of the town. When tirst laid out through what is now the 
village, it passed north of its present location, running north of the 
Academy, near the dwelling house of the Rev. David Parsons, the 
first minister of the town, which stood north west of the Academy, 
the collar of which house is yet visible : Passing across the present 
common lands, east of the meeting house, it came into the road as 
it now is, west of the meeting house. Other alterations in this 
highway, and some of them recent, have been made for the benefit 
of the traveller, which we will not describe, nor should we have 
said thus much upon so unimportant a subject, had not the early es- 
tablishment of this highway seemed to make it a subject of histori- 
cal interest. In 1806, the Worcester and Stafford turnpike was 
laid out through the south part of this town: it is upon this, that 
the commercial Mail is now carried. Besides these roads, there 
is one running from Paxton to Charlton and Oxford, through the 
centre of this town : and another, running from Worcester to New 
Braintree, through the north part. There is a large number of 
roads leading from this to the neighboring towns, and from one part 
of this to another, making, in the whole, more than sixty miles of 
highway, supported at the expense of the town, and kept in repair 
by an annual tax of, at least, <glOOO. 

To those who only know this town in its present state, with its 
large and beautiful village, and the grounds around it highly culti- 
vated and productive, it may be amusing to recur to its state in 1721, 
when the highway to vvhat is now Paxton was laid out. It began 
by the then meeting house, at a black birch, standing by a great 
red oak, behind the meeting house, and close by the same, and run 
thence, by marked trees, through the forest then covering the re- 
gion around. That forest has disappeared with the hardy race of 
men who first disturbed its solitudes, and it is difficult for the" im- 
agination, when gazing on the fields now waving with rich harvests, 
to go back to the times when the haunts of the savage and the 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 15 

wild beast wore liere, anJ a cheerless wilderness alone met the eye. 
Schools, Academy, he. — Although the inhabitants of this town, 
at its first settlement, were at comparatively great expense to ?n\>- 
port the institutions of the gospel, thoy were not unmindl'ul of the 
importance of common schools. Within ten years from the settle- 
ment of thf3 place, if not sooner, schools were established in three 
parts of the town, and were kejtt by one teacher, who was employ- 
ed at the expense of the inhabitants. About the year 1732, these 
schools vvere, ("or some reason, discontinued ; but the Quarter Ses- 
sions with becoming, though somevvhat singular vigilance, discover- 
ed this omission of duty on the part of the inhabitants, and caused 
them to be presented, in 1733, for their neglect. Schools, from 
that time, have been regularly kept; nor were they suspended, 
even during the struggle for our independence ; although it seem- 
ed as if the last remnant of convertible property had been con- 
tributed to aid on that cause. Our ancestors knew, that in order 
for Iheir sons to retain the independence for which they were strug- 
gling, they must be enlightened and instructed. In 1733, a master 
of a " writing and reading school" was employed for three months, 
at the rate of £4 10^ per montli. During all this time, the schools 
had been kept at private houses, and, in 1736, a school house was 
first erected. It was 20 by 16 feet in dimensions, and stood about 
ten rods north of the then meeting house, which was a little south 
of the place where the present one stands. In 1745, schools were 
kept in seven difTerent places in town, but all by one man, and 
i^lOO, old tenor, was a[»propriated for their support. In 1750, nine 
men were chosen to superintend the schools and were directed " to 
procure a grammar school master as soon as may be." Mr. John 
Cobb had been the school master the preceding year, and had been 
allowed £\25, old tenor. The schools, this year, were kept in 
three places at the same time, each for the term of six weeks- 
During this time, Spencer had been a parish of Leicester. In 1765 
tne topvn was divided into five school districts, and school houses 
built in each. There have been too many changes in respect to 
these districts, since that time, to warrant a detail of tiiem here. 
At present, they are nine in number, and the whole number of schol- 
ars entitled by law to attend these schools, may hp estimated at 
about 750. The sura annually raised for the purpose of schooling 
is, at present, ^600, and the compensation usually given to teach- 
ers has been from <^10 to ^20 per month (o men. and from $i to ^7 
per month to ladies. 



H> HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

Our common schools have ever been justly reckoned amongst 
the most important institutions of our country. Indeed, they may 
be considered as at the foundatio:: of every thing valuable in our 
institutions. From these fountains of knowledge, open to all, with- 
out distinction of sex or condition, intelligence is diffused through 
the community, and with it, a love of country and an attachment 
to her institutions. The importance of these schools has been ap- 
preciated here, and the appropriations for their support have usu- 
ally been liberal, when compared with those of towns of equal 
wealth and magnitude. 

The people of this town are favored with opportunities for a 
higher education than is to be obtained in common schools, by 
means of the very respectable Academy located here. It is one of 
*he oldest Academies in the stale, and the character of its instruc- 
tion is elevated and liberal. It was incorporated im-der the name 
of Leicester Academy, March 23, 1784. It owes its foundation to 
the generosity and public spirit of Col. Jacob Davis, and Col. Eb- 
enezer Crafts, whose munilicence was suitablj' acknowledged in 
the act of Incorporation. The liberality of these gentlemen, one 
of them resident in Charlton, and the other in Sturbridge, deserves 
the gratitude of posterity.* They purchased the commodious 
Dwelling House, then recentl}' occupied by Aaron Lopez, and its 
appendages, together with an acre of land, which they conveyed 
to the Trustees of Leicester Academ}', " in consideration of the 
regard they bear to virtue and learning, which they consider great- 
ly conducive to the welfare of the community." The value of this 
estate was ^1716, and was situated directly in front of the present 
Academy buildings. During the same j'ear, (1784,) Dr. Austin 
Flint, who has ever been a tirm patron of the institution, and whose 
name would fill a larger space in our history than we are allowed 
to give it, if we were at liberty to follow the dictates of our own 
feelings, conveyed one hundred and twenty four square rods of 
land to said trustees, " in consideration of a desire to encourage the 
Academy." The liberality thus exhibited towards this institution, 

*Col. Davis was a native of Oxford, but, at the time of his donation to 
the Academy, he resided in Charlton, where he owned a valuable estate, ad- 
jacent to the estate of his brother, the late Ebenezer Davis, Esq. deceased. 
He afterwards removed to Montpelier, in Vermont, of which he was a con- 
siderable proprietor, and was the first white settler of any respectability in 
that town, now the seat of Government of Vermont. Col. Crafts command- 
ed the fifst regiment of Cavalry ever raised in this county. He removed 
from Sturbridge to the town of Craftsbury, Vermont, where he died. His 
son, Samuel C. Crafts, who prepared for College at this Academy, was, for 
many years, a member of Congress from Vermont. 



HISTORV OF LEICESTER. 17 

was also manifested by many other public spirited gentlemen in 
the County. The town of Leicester, in its corporate capacity, gave 
£500 " consolidated securities." The Hon. Moses Gill gave £1 50-: 
Thomas Denny, and Thomas Newhall, of Leicester, Gen. Rufus 
Putnam, of Rutland, and Jeduthan Baldwin, of Brookfield, each gave 
the sum of £100: Mr. Reuben Swan gave £50: John Southgate, 
and Samuel Denny, of Leicester, and the lion. Joseph Allen, Esq. 
of Worcester, and Timothy Bigelow, Esq. each gave £30 : and 
Isaiah Thomas, L. L. D. gave the sum of £20. Donations were 
also made by Samuel Green, and Samuel Green, Jr. Peter Taft, 
Gapt. William Watson, and Samuel Watson, of Leicester ; Timothy 
Paine, Esq. and Phinebas Jones, of Worcester; Caleb Ammidown, 
of Charlton, and John Pierce. Of the original subscriptions, the 
sum of ^2890 was raised within the town of Leicester, and ;|>1G10 
by donations from abroad. Besides these, the state granted to the 
Academy a township of land in Maine, and a grant to raise ^2000 
by a lottery in 1783, to repair their buildings. The late Hon. Mr. 
Gill, was ever a great benefactor to the institution, and gave, in ad» 
dition to his former donation, a quantity of Books, for which he 
paid £30 sterling, in England, for the use of the students in the 
Academy. In 1811, Col. Thomas Newhall, who had been one of 
its earliest and firnsest supporters, died, and left by his will a lega- 
cy of ^1000 to this institution, and the interest of another thousand, 
to be annually expended in defraying the tuition of those families 
in town, who reside more than a mile from the Academy. In 
1G19, Stephen Salisbury, Esq. and the Hon. Dwight Foster, each 
gave the sum of ^50, and five individuals in Leicester, in 1820, 
and 1822, gave a sum equal to (^583. These were Alpheus Smith, 
Hon. Nathaniel P. Denny, Henry Sargent, Austin Flint, and James 
Smith, Esquires. In 1824, the Commonwealth made a donation of 
a small farm in Paxton, estimated at $400. In 1823, Capt. Israel 
Waters, of Charlton, who had been long known as a man interested 
in public institutions, left, at his death, most of his estate to the 
trustees of this Academy, for the support of a teacher, under the 
restrictions and limitations of the devise. The exact amount to 
be realized from this estate has not yet been ascertained, but is es- 
timated at eight thousand dollars. 

The available funds of the institution, exclusive of the buildings, 
occupied for the schools, was, in May, 1825, $10,G55 ; which, ad- 
ded to the Waters donation, places this institution on a respectable 
and independent foundation. It has ever enjoyed in a good degree 



18 niSTORY OF LEICESTtn. 

(he public favor and confidence and the high cliaracter of its trus- 
tees and instructors has deserved that confidence. 

The first meeting of the trustees was held, April 7, 1784, and 
the Hon. Moses Gill was elected President of the board : which 
then consisted of Ebenezer Crafts, and Jacob Davis, Esquires, Hon. 
Moses Gill, Hon. Levi Lincoln, Hon. Joseph Allen, Hon. Samuel 
Baker, Hon. Seth Washburn, Rev. Benjamin Conklin, Gen. Rufus 
Putnam, Rev. Joshua Paine, of Sturbridge, Rev. Joseph Pope, Rev. 
Archibald Campbell, Hon. Timothy Danielson, of Brimfield, and 
Rev. Joseph Sumner, D. D. of Shrewsbury. The Hon. Levi Lin- 
coln succeeded Mr. Gill as President, and was succeeded by Dr. 
Sumner, whcse successor was the Rev Dr. Bancroft, who now pre- 
sides over that board, alike honor.ibly to himself and usefully to 
the institution. 

There has usually been a principal and assistant teacher in this 
Academy: though, about 1789, the funds of the institution became 
embarrassed, on account of the depreciated state of the currency, 
and one instructor only was employed, and bis salary in that year 
was paid out of the treasury of the town. For miiny years, two in- 
structors have been employed, and, at times, three. There has 
been a succession of highly respectable men as Preceptors of this 
Academy, the whole number of whom our limits will not permit us 
individually to mention. The first in order was Mr. Benjamin 
Stone,* whose assistant was Mr. Thomas Pa3'son. After a succes- 
sion of Preceptors, Mr. Ebenezer Adam'?, took charge of the Institu- 
tion, in 1792, and continued in that office till 10(36, when he re- 
signed it. As a teacher, his character was almost unrivalled. For 
the fourteen years he continued in that employment, he was uni- 
formly respected and esteemed, as well by his pupils, as by the in- 
habitants of the town, and when he left, he bore with him the high- 
est testimonials of the regret of the trustees at his surrender of a 
place he had so usefully filled. t Among those whose names v.'e 
would mention with respect, as having officiated as teachers -in this 
Academy, are the Rev. Dr. Pierce now of Brookline, Drs. Jackson 
and Shattuck of Boston, Chief Justice Richardson, of New Hamp- 

* Mr. Stone was a native of Shrewsbury, where he now resides. He 
j^raduated at Cambridgfe, in 1776, and studied the profession of Theology, but 
was never settled over any society. 

t Mr. Adams was a native of New Ipswich, in N. H. He graduated at 
Dartmouth College, in 1791. In 1809, he was appointed to the professorship 
of Languages in that institution, and subsequently, to that of Mathematics 
and Natural Philosophy, which he now fiUs with honor, fidelity, and use- 
fulness. 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 19 

shire, and the Hon. Timothy Fuller, of Cambridge, men of reputa- 
tion too high cither to need, or be advanced by encomiums of ours. 
The late eminent and lamented Bishop Dehon, of Charleston, S. C. 
was a preceptor here, in 1796.* Mr. Adams was succeeded by the 
late Rev. Dr. Moore, and he by the Rev. Luther Wilson, now of 
Petersham, whose successor was the Rev. Josiah Clark, of Rutland. 
The present principal instructor of the Academy is, Mr. John Rich- 
ardson : the preceptor of the English department, Mr. Increase S. 
Smith. 

In 1824, a respectable Philosophical apparatus was procured in 
London, through the agency of the Rev. Dr. Prince, of Salem, by 
individuals of the town of Leicester, and given to the Academy. 

This institution may now deservedly claim a high rank among 
those of our country. The salaries to its officers are liberal ; it is 
located in the centre of a rich and populous county, and in a situ- 
ation pleasant, healthy, and retired from the confusion and dissipa- 
tion of the dense population of a large town. The situation of the 
Academy building is high, and commands a fine prospect. The 
exterior of the building is neat and well proportioned ; its interior 
commodious and well designed. It is three stories high, with six- 
teen lodging rooms or parlors, besides a dining hall, library, school 
room, and chapel, and cost between eight and nine thousand dol- 
lars. It was intended to accommodate the students with commons, 
if desired, and a steward occupies a portion of the building for this 
purpose. Connected with the Academy, is a literary societ}' of the 
students, possessed of a considerable library. 

This was, for many years, the only Academy in the County of 
Worcester, and is among the oldest in the State : Though our de- 
tail of its history may have been tedious, the importance of the 
subject which seemed to require it, must be our apology. 

There are no other literary institutions in town. There are two 
or three Social Libraries, containing, in the whole, about a thous- 

* Bishop Dehon was a native of Boston, and was born Dec. 8, 1776. He 
entered Harvard University at the age of 14 years, and g;raduated in 1795. 
The next year, though but 19 years old, he was employed in the English de- 
partment of Leicester Academy, and there won the ri.-spect and esteem of 
every one connected with the institution. He was admitted to the order of 
Priest in 1800, and took charge ol the Church in Newport, II. 1. where he 
was remarkably popular atid acceptable as a preacher. His ill health, in 
1G09, induced him to become rector of St. Michai-Ps Church, in Charleston, 
S. C. In 1812, he was unanimously t lected Bishop of the Diocess of South 
Carolina, which otfice he sustained till Ills death, August G, 1817, vvhen he 
fell a victim to the yellow fever. He died at the age of 41, and of him, if. 
might with propriety b*- said, *' his epitaph should be his nanft alone." » 

3 



£0 



HISTORY OF 1,B;1CESTER. 



and volumes of well selected books. The people would be far 
from bein^ iQclined to boast of the effect ot these institutions for 
the promotion of knowledge. The effect of them has been rather 
to give a good education to many, than to educate a few at the ex- 
pense of others. Although a majority of the inhabitants in town 
have, at one time or other, availed themselves of the benefits of the 
Academy here, there have not more than eight persons graduated 
from any College, who were natives of the town, since the year 
1784, and of these, not one studied theology. 

Ecclesiastical History. — As we have already observed, the 
records of the town do not go back beyond March, 1721, and the 
records of the church, as distinguished from those of the town, have 
not been preserved till within thirty years. Inconsequence of this, 
it is impossible to learn when the Congregational Church here was 
lirst formed. That it had been formed before March 30th, 1721, 
appears probable: since, at a town meeting then held, the ques- 
tion of settling Mr. David Parsons, as pastor was acted upon. He 
had, before that time, received a call to settle as their clergyman, 
and then gave his answer, accepting their invitation. He was the 
tirst clergyman of the town, and was installed in September, 1721. 
He had been previouslj^ settled in Maiden, and dismissed from that 
people. The terms of his settlement here were, that he should 
receive a gratuity of £100, be removed, with his family, from Mai- 
den, at the expense of the town, and be paid £75 salary per an- 
num. For an additional encouragement, the town gave him forty 
acres of land in rear of the meeting house, and outlauds enough to 
make up 100 acres. The unanimity of the people on this occasion 
in addition to the circumstances that some, at least, of his former 
people, removed with him to Leicester, promised that his connex- 
ion with this society would be useful and happy. But it proved 
far otherwise. He was a man of strong passions, and after a few 
years, there was very little disposition manifested by many of his 
people, to quell these passions, when excited. What originated 
these difficulties it would perhaps be impossible now to ascertain. 
The embarrassed and straitened circumstances of the people of the 
town might have been a cause of their neglecting to pay him his 
annual salary according to contract. In consequence of this neg- 
lect, he complained to the Quarter Sessions, in 1728. To this 
complaint the town made defence, and a long and unhappy law- 
suit ensued. It is impossible, and would certainly be unprofitable, 
to trace the progress of these domestic difficulties. Such, howev- 



HISTORV OF LEICESTER. 21 

er, was the state of public feeling, in 1729, that the town voted not 
to support him any longer as their minister, to join with the 
church in deposing him ; and chose a committee to supply the pul- 
pit. But ecclesiastical contracts were not then so easily severed. 
This step by one of the contracting parties was inoperative, and 
the other was not inclined to recede from the strong ground he 
had taken. Even while the complaint before the Quarter Sessions 
was pending, he commenced a civil action for the arrears of his 
salary. These difficulties, at length, became so ruinous to the 
peace of the town and oppressive to its inhabitants, that they pe- 
titioned the Legislature, in 1731, for some relief in the matter, and 
a paper containing the names of each person in town, in favor and 
against Mr. Parsons, subscribed by each, was presented to his Ex- 
cellency, the Governor, (Belcher) to inform him of the actual state 
of public sentiment upon the subject, and two agents were appoint- 
ed to offer it. A resolve, in favor of releasing the town from 
their obligation any longer to support their minister, passed the 
House of Representatives and the Council, but the Governor re- 
fused to sign it. Judgment having been rendered against the town, 
by the Quarter Sessions, and the Governor, though twice petition- 
ed, refusing to sign the resolves, the town petitioned the Legislature 
for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court, "so that they 
might have a trial in the common law." But this petition failed, 
on account of the Legis^lature's being suddenly prorogued, and the 
town were again called together to revive this petition, in the hope 
"of being relieved" in the words of the warrant, "from Mr. Par- 
sons' bondage.'^ But by one of those sudden lluctuations in public 
opinion, which are sometimes observed in popular governments, 
the popular feeling was now turning in favor of Mr. Parsons. The 
vote dismissing him was reconsidered, his arrears of salary voted, 
and the Selectmen left to pay the tines assessed upon them by the 
Quarter Sessions, in consequence of a second complaint of Mr, Par- 
sons, for their neglect in seeing him paid. These votes were, 
however, said to have been surreptitiously obtained, and produced 
much excitement. 

These facts are detailed, rather as a sample of the mode of 
proceeding, at that day, in cases of disagreement between a peo- 
ple and their minister, and the disposition of the civil authorities 
to support ecclesiastical power, than because any interest can be 
felt in them so long after their occurrence. The diflferenccs be- 
tween Mr. Parsons and his people, did not subside here. They at 



22 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

length became so notorious, that six gentlemen from Worcester 
voluntarily assumed the character of mediators and visited the 
town for that purpose. A public entertainment was provided for 
them, but their efforts had no success and there was no cessation of 
hostilities till the town voted to join with the church in calling an 
eclesiasticnl council to djscharge him from being their minister. 
This was on the 13th January, 1735, and he was dismissed, March 
6th of the same year from his connexion with the church and socie- 
ty in this town. He continued to reside here till his death in 1737- 
He was by his special direction buried on his own land, apart from 
the graves of his people. He was unwilling that his ashes should 
repose by the side of those with whom be had once worshipped in 
the sanctuary and to whom he had broken the consecrated bread ; 
his grave is now visible in a mowing field, about 30 rods north 
of the meeting house — a monument of human frailty. The long 
continued difficulties, of which we have given an outline, were too 
important a subject in so j'oung and thinly populated a town to be 
soon forgotten. They are still handed down by tradition and form 
anecdotes illustrative of the times in which they occurred. We for- 
bear repeating these, or dwelling any longer upon the character of 
one, who, with all his frailties, had many redeeming qualities. He 
left a family, from which have sprung many,who, in later times, have 
been distinguished for their learning, usefulness and talents, and 
have been among the most respectable citizens of their day. 

After the dismission of Mr. Parsons, preaching was supported 
for a time, by contributions taken up on each Sabbath, and a Mr. 
Rice employed for a while. In 1735, the church and society set 
apart a day for fasting and prayer, for directions in regard to a suc- 
cessor to Mr. Parsons. And on the 30th January, 1736, they gave 
a call to Mr. David Goddard, who was a native of Framingham, to 
settle here, and voted him £300 settlement, and £100 salary, so 
long as he remained their minister, Mr. Goddard accepted this 
invitation, and in a short and pertinent answer, expressed his wish 
that the church should be governed according to the rules of the 
"Cambridge platform," adopted by the New England churches, in 
1648. His salary, while their minister, was often in arrear ; but 
his connexion with his people was uniformly happy and satisfacto- 
ry, and an addition of £50 per annum was voluntarily made to his 
salary for several years. He was ordained over the society, June 
30, 1736, and died January 19, 1754, at Framingham, where he 
"vas seized with a fever, when on a journey. He had been a min- 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 23 

ister of this church but 13 years, and was 48 years of age, at the 
time of his death. He alone, of the five clergymen who were set- 
tled here, previous to the present one, died in the ministerial ser- 
vice of the society ; all the others were dismissed from their con- 
nexion. 

In July, 1736, Mr. Joseph Roberts, Jr. was invited to settle as 
the minister over this society, accepted the invitation, and was or- 
dained, October 23, 1754. The town voted to give him <£133, 6s. 
8d. silver money, "as a settlement," and £66, \3s. 8d. per an- 
num, salary, in silver money, at 6s. 8d. per ounce. The salaries 
before this time had been paid according to the currency of the 
day, which was often so depreciated, that what seems at first a 
large sum, was greatly reduced by this depreciation. Provision 
was made at his ordination to entertain " ministers, messeiigers, and 
scholars."* 

Although settled under favorable auspices, the relation of Mr. 
Roberts to the town soon became unpleasant. The precise causes 
of the disalfection do not appear, but they had become so strong in 
1762, that the society voted to concur with the church in calling a 
council to settle the difhculties that there existed. The meeting of 
the inhabitants was called by personal notice to each. They made 
provision to entertain the council, though they declined taking part 
in drawing up a list of grievances which the church was going to 
present to the council. The council met, and recommended a dis- 
solution of the connexion between Mr. Roberts and his people, and 
on the 14th day of December, 1762, he v.'as accordingly dismissed. 
This did not, by any means, comport with Mr. Roberts' feelings, 
but it put an end to the ditficulties between him and the people of 
the town, as he removed soon after from Leicester into Western, or 
its vicinity, where he died within a few years, at a very advanced 
age. He lived while a minister here, in the west part of the 
town, where he owned a considerably extensive tract of land. He 
was a bachelor, and was possessed of a good estate. Money seems 
to have been his favorite object, and his reply to the invitation of 
the society, to become their minister, is a singular specimen of pro- 
fessed devotedness to God and his service, and actual sordidncss 
and avarice. 

*From the death of Mr. Goddard, till the settlement of Mr. Roberts, the 
town had been supplied with preaching, and the sum of £l7i was now ap- 
propriated to pay those who had entertained the preachers, while the greater 
sum of £18 was appropriated to d«-fray the expeuse of keeping their horses 
during the same time. 



24 HISTORV OF I,EICESTEil. 

Although the Society were unfortunate in having to provide 
themselves again with a clergyman within so short a time, they 
were happy in obtaining one who united them again as a religious 
society. In August, HGo, Mr. Benjamin Conklin was invited to 
settle as a minister over the society, and was ordained, November 
23, of the same year. His salary was the same as that given to 
Mr. Roberts, and at his ordination, provision was made to entertain 
"Ministers, scholars, and gentlemen.'''' His relation of minister to 
this church and society continued till June 30, 1794, when his grow- 
ing bodily infirmities induced him to accept a proposal from the so- 
ciety for his dismission, by giving him a gratuity of Jtl70, and an 
exemption from taxation. The society, at the time of dissolving 
the connexion between them, expressed to him their thanks for his 
useful and arduous services, and their sympathies for his declining 
health and increasing infirmities. The council that dismissed Mr. 
Conkhn, consisted of the Rev. Drs. Sumner, Bancroft, and Austin, 
and in the result of their proceedings, they bore most unqualified 
testimony to his high character as a clergyman and a citizen. He 
survived until January 30, 1798, when he died, at the age of 65. 
A plain headstone, in the burying ground, in Leicester, bears this 
inscription, which he had selected for the purpose in his life time. 
" Hie jacet, Benjamin Conklin, M. in expectatione diei supremi. 
Q,ualis erat, dies iste indicabit." He married the widow of Dr. 
Lawton, who had been a practicing physician in this town. He 
left three children, one only of whom survives. He was a native 
of Southold, on Long Island, and was graduated at Princeton Col- 
lege, in New Jersey. He came here when about thirty years of 
age, and was a minister of this society for more than thirty years, 
including the trying period of the Revolution, and the troublesome 
times of the insurrection, known under the name of " Shay's war." 
It is most conclusive evidence of his prudence and firmness, that 
during the whole time he officiated here, he was acceptable to his 
people, and every attempt by disaffected individuals to remove him 
was controlled and defeated by his society. Though never distin- 
guished for brilliancy of talents, he was a respectable preacher, 
and ever possessed a commanding influence among his people. He 
was a firm friend of his country, and never hesitated, even at the 
darkest period of her history, to avow the sentiments which he 
entertained. In one of the neighboring towns, it was thought by 
some of the people, that their clergyman did not preach strongly 
enough in favor of the cause of liberty ; " then," said he, "I will 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 25 

exchange with Mr. Conklin, and he will satisfy you, I am sure." 
He was also a tiecided friend of the government during the insur- 
rection of 1786, and became obnoxious to the insurgents, on ac- 
count of his active exertions to support the laws and the govern- 
ment, and in one or more instances was obliged to seek a refuge 
away from his house from personal violence from the insurgents. 
In his person, Mr. Conklin was rather above the middling stature, 
and somewhat inclined to corpulency. His address was easy and 
familiar, and his conversation abounded with anecdote. He, at 
times, indulged in humor, of which he possessed a considerable 
share. He was pleasing and interesting without being brilliant, 
and useful and instructive without being great. He performed the 
duties of his station honorably and acceptably, and among the pat- 
riots of the revolution, he deservedly held a very respectable 
place. 

After the dismission of Mr. Conklin, Mr. James Tufts was em- 
ployed to preach as a candidate by this society, and a majority of 
them desired to settle him, and accordingly gave him an invitation 
to that effect. But a few of the society dissenting from him in re- 
ligious sentiments, he declined accepting the invitation. He after- 
wards became, and we believe still is, the minister of Wardsboro', 
in Vermont. 

In 1795, the Rev. Jesse Appleton preached here as a candidate 
for settlement. He was, at that time, very young, and though not 
very popular at first, he became very acceptable to all, and strong 
efforts were made to induce him to settle. But though unanimous- 
ly invited, he declined the invitation, much to the regret of all the 
society. He afterwards became President of Bowdoin College, in 
Brunswick, Me. in 1807, and died in 1819, very much lamented. 

After him, Zephaniah Swift Moorf, was employed to preach 
here, and, in October, 1797, was unanimously invited to become 
the minister of this church and society. He was ordained here, 
January 10, 1798, upon a salary of ^400 per annum. He continu- 
ed here till October 28, 1811, when, having been appointed Pro- 
fessor of the Languages in Dartmouth College, he was dismissed 
at his own request. Dr. Moore filled too important a sphere in 
society during his life to be passed over in silence, when giving 
what purports to be a history of a town to which he held the rela- 
tion of a minister of the Gospel for almost 14 years. He was born 
in Palmer, in this State, but removed in early life to Wilmington, 
Vt. Here he labored with his father, who was a respectable farm- 
er, till he was twenty years of age. 



I 

26 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

A part of his course of study preparatory to admission into col- 
lege, he pursued at Bennington. He graduated from Dartmouth 
College in 1793, with a high character as a scholar. He studied 
Divinity with the Rev. Dr. Backus, of Somers, in Connecticut. He 
was appointed Professor of Languages in Dartmouth College, in 
J 811, and continued there till 1815, when he received and accept- 
ed the appointment of President of Williams College, in Massachu- 
setts, where he continued till his appointment of President of Am- 
herst Collegiate Institution, which has, since his death, been char- 
tered as a college. This appointment was made in 1821, and he 
held the office at the time of his death, June 30, 1823. He died at 
the age of 52 years, leaving a wife, but no children. 

In every station which he held, he exhibited powers of mind, 
and strength of character to perform the duties incumbent upon 
him, with the greatest honor and success. He was, indeed, no or- 
dinary man, and we feel that any attempt to delineate his charac- 
ter, or do justice to his reputation, as a scholar, as a christian, and 
as a man, must, in a great measure, fail. We hope some abler pen 
will yet do justice to his memory. 

He was an indefatigable student, and possessed a remarkably sound 
and discriminating mind. His acquirements were extensive in al- 
most every department of science and literature that came under 
his examination. But his favorite study, next to that of Theolo- 
gy, were moral Philosophy and Meta{)hysics. He was possessed of 
an unshaken firmness of character, and though cool and deliberate 
in forming opinions or arriving at conclusions, when they were 
once formed, he adhered to them with fearless resolution till con- 
vinced of his errors. He was often able to carry through a favor- 
ite plan with success, which to others would have seemed hopeless 
and desperate. His progress from the plough to the chair of Pres- 
ident of a College, though never rapid, was sure and unwavering. 
In every situation in life, he was kind, social, and engaging. 
But it was in his own family, and at his own fireside, that he exhib- 
ited most fully those qualities which we love and admire. His 
conversation was of an elevated and improving character, and no 
one could leave his society without having been delighted and in- 
structed. In the government and discipline of a college, he had 
no superior. His accurate knowledge of human nature, his deci- 
sion of character, and his urbanity of manners, while they enabled 
him to discriminate properly in the subjects of his government, Car- 
ried respect and enforced obedience, and at the same time won the 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. ^ i 

confidence and aflfection of the pupil. As a writer, his productions 
maybe considered as almost a model of fine composition. He rare- 
ly indulged in rhetorical ornaments of style, but was always neat 
and perspicuous, and often eloquent. His sermons were always 
heard with interest and attention, and would be read with pleasure 
as well as profit. 

The writer has known Dr. Moore in almost every situation in 
life, and has had cause to love and respect him, while he admired 
those qualities of mind which he exhibited under all circumstances, 
and some of them the most trying. But it would be improper to 
intrude any personal feelings towards him in this place; we are 
only to speak of his character as it should be known in history, 
and we regret that we can do it so little justice. But we are not 
sufficiently removed from the time in which he lived, to have his 
character and reputation presented in their proper light. His is a 
fame that will brighten, and be remembered, when many whose 
genius was more brilliant and dazzlmg, will be forgotten. His 
name must ever be remembered as connected with Amherst Col- 
lege, for to his reputation and exertions, more than any other 
thing, may the early success and even existence of that institution 
be ascribed. We leave it to posterity to do him justice. His pri- 
vate virtues may be forgotten ; for those only who knew him could 
appreciate them ; but his character as a theologian, an instructor, 
and as a President and Director of a Seminary of learning, will be 
remembered. 

He married, soon after becoming the minister of Leicester, to a 
daughter of the late Thomas Drury, of Ward, in this county, who 
still survives him. In his person. Dr. Moore was large, and very 
well formed; his manners were dignified and easy; his voice, 
though not very loud, was clear and distinct, and its tones remark- 
ably pleasant. His manner of delivery was entirely free from af- 
fectation and attempt at display : he made use of but little action, 
but he was always listened to with interest and attention. 

He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity at Dartmouth 
College, in the year 1816. In the year 1818, he preached the an- 
nual election sermon, before the executive and legislature of Mas- 
sachusetts. He was, for some years before his death, a member of 
the American board of commissioners for foreign missions. His 
election sermon, and a few occasional sermons, were the principal 
productions of his pen ever published. 

Although the town consented to the dismission of Dr. Moore 
4 



28 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

with reluctance and regret, and his removal was then considered a 
public misfortune to his society, they were so fortunate as to unite 
immediately in giving an unanimous call to Mr. John Nelson, Jr. 
to become their minister. He accepted the call, and was ordained 
March 4, 1812; but a little more than four months from the time 
of Dr. Moore's dismission. His salary at first was ;^450 per annum, 
but is at present, (1826) ^650. Mr. Nelson was a native of Hop- 
kinton, in this state, from whence he removed with his father to 
Worcester. He graduated at Williams College, in 1807, and was 
subsequently a tutor in that college, and afterwards pursued his 
theological studies under the tuition of the Rev. Dr. Austin, of 
Worcester. 

From the time of the dismission of Mr. Parsons, the congrega- 
tional society have, for the most part, been in a state of great 
peace and tranquillity, and this spirit has prevailed in regard to re- 
ligious opinions throughout the town ; although there have, for 
many years, been several religious societies who have places of 
worship here. The first congregational meeting house was erect- 
ed before the year 1721, though not completed till many years after- 
wards. That having gone much to decay, and being inconvenient, 
a new one was erected and completed in 1784 and '5, a little in the 
rear of the original house. 

From the settlement of Mr. Parsons, till 1768, if the society was 
provided with church music at all, those who sung were scattered 
promiscuously through the audience. In that year, " the use of 
the hindermost seat in the front gallery" was appropriated to "those 
who had learned the rules of singing," and it was not till 1780, that 
the singers were allowed to sit in the front seat in the gallery. 

Besides the congregational society, there has, for a long time, 
been a society of Baptists, and one of Friends; an Episcopalian 
society has recently been organized in the town. There was, 
from 1777 till 1783, a society of Jews resident in this town. They 
removed here in the winter of 1777, from Newport, in Rhode Is- 
land, to escape from the war then raging so violently along our 
coasts, and especially threatening the devoted island upon which 
Newport is situated, then in possession of the enemy. There were, 
in the whole, including servants, about seventy who removed here ; 
though many of the servants were not of the Jewish faith. A- 
mong the most respectable Jews, were Aaron Lopez, and four 
others of the name of Lopez, Jacob Revera, and Abraham Men- 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 29 

dez.* Most of them engaged immediately in trade, and Aaron Lo- 
pez, in particular, was very extensively engaged. He occupied, 
and in part built, the house afterwards occupied for the Academy. 
Licences to these are reco''ded in the town records, "to sell Bohea 
and other Indian teas." They all resided here until after the peace 
of 1783. Although, so far as respected their religion, they were 
entirely distinct from the rest of the inhabitants of the town : they 
were, in all other respects, on terms of great intimacy and friend- 
ship. They always observed the rites and ceremonies of their law, 
and their stores were closed from Friday evening until Monday 
morning.f They were prudent, industrious, and enterprising, and 
many of them were elegant in their address and deportment, and 
possessed an extensive knowledge of the world. They were much 
respected and esteemed by the inhabitants of the town, and always 
seemed to remember with pleasure, the kindness and civilities 
they, on their part, received while resident here, and availed them- 
selves, ever afterwards, of every opportunity that presented to ex- 
press these feelings, as many who experienced their attentions 
when in Newport would attest.| 

Of all those who removed to this town from Newport, no one 
now remains here. The last of their number removed, a i'ew 
years since, to New York. The synagogue where they worship- 
ped, is now desolate and forsaken; the grass waves luxuriantly in 
the court yard ; and the little furniture remains, as when last used 
for holy service more than thirty years ago. The church yard, in 
which most of this number are buried, is still preserved in a state 
of uacommon neatness and beauty. But we have digressed, per- 

* Aaron Lopez occupied what was afterwards the old Academy. Joseph 
was the son of Aaron, and lived wit,h him. Mo€es and Jacob were clerks for 
Aaron. Mendez lived, for a time, where B. Hobart now lives, about half a 
mile north of the meeting; house, and afterwards in the old house at the foot 
of the meeting house hill, called the " Southgate house." Revera lived in 
the house which forms a part of the Hotel, opposite the meeting house. 

t A child of one of the families having one day tasted of some pork, in one 
of the neighbor's houses, its mother, immediately, upon learning the fact, ad- 
ministered a powerful emetic, and thus cast out the sin of which it had been 
unconsciously guilty. 

J The death of Mr. Aaron Lopez, the most wealthy and intelligent of 
their number, took place under circumstances peculiarly distressing. Trav- 
elling to Providence, himself in a gig, accompanied by his wife and family in 
a carriage, he drove into Scott's pond, in Smithfield, to water his horse, 
when, from the abruptness of the shore, the horse sunk immediately beyond 
his depth, and drawing the gig after him, threw Mr. Lopez into the water, 
where he perished, in presence of his famtly, whoie efforts to save hiiQ were 
pnayailing[. 



30 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 



haps too far, to follow to their last resting place, those, who once 
formed a respectable portion of the population of this town. Their 
history had no important connection with that of the town, and it 
entirely ceased at the time of their removal in 1783. 

A society of Anabaptists was formed in this town, about the year 
1738. The first minister of the society was Dr. Thomas Green, a 
physician of considerable note in his day. It was chiefly through 
his instrumentality that the society was gathered. This church 
appears to have once formed part of a society of Baptists in Sut- 
ton, of which Dr. Green was one of the pastors. 

Dr. Green was a native of Maiden, Mass. and was one of 
the early settlers of Leicester. His circuit of business as a 
Physician was extensive, and his life was that of active and 
persevering industry. His success as a preacher was also very 
considerable, and a very respectable society was gathered. A 
meeting house was built through his agency, about three miles 
from the congregational meeting house. This house requiring 
great repairs, the society, in 1825, enlarged and repaired it, 
and it is now a very neat and convenient house of worship. Dr. 
Green died in 1773, at the age of 73 years, after a life distin- 
guished for its activity and usefulness. His descendants, though 
not very numerous, have been among the useful and distin- 
guished men of the county; and some of them have particularly 
excelled in the profession of medicine, for which they have shown 
a predilection. 

Dr. Green was succeeded, as a pastor of this church, by the 
Rev. Benjamin Foster, D. D. whose talents and acquirements rank- 
ed him among the highest order of the profession. He was a na- 
tive of Danvers, Mass. and born June 12, 1750. At the age of 18, 
he entered "Vale College, where he was regularly graduated, and 
afterwards pursued the study of Theology under the tuition of Dr. 
Stillman, of Boston, and was ordained over the Baptist Church in 
Leicester, in 1772, where he continued several years, and while 
there, published some controversial tracts of considerable merit. 
Soon after leaving Leicester, he was settled in Newport, R. \. and, 
in 1788, became the pastor of the first Baptist church in the city 
of New York, where he continued till his death, in 1798. He re- 
ceived the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity at Brown Uni- 
versity, in 1792, in consequence of a learned treatise upon " the 
seventy weeks of Daniel," which he had previously published. 
He was a distinguished scholar, an eminent preacher, and. a consis- 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 31 

tent christian. He fell a victim to the yellow fever, which pre- 
vailed in the city of New York during the summer of his death. 
Not daunted in the performance of his parochial duties, he was 
unremitting in his attention to the sick and dying, and he shrunk not 
from those scenes of alfliction, from which so many of the best and 
the bravest recoiled with terror. He died August 26, 1798, at the 
age of 49 years. He was twice married, his first wife being the 
daughter of the Rev. Dr. Green, of Leicester, and the other, a lady 
from New York. 

Dr. Foster was succeeded in the charge of the Leicester church 
by Mr. Isaac Beals ; whose successor was Mr. Nathan Dana; and 
his again vvas Mr. Peter Rogeis, who became the pastor of a church 
in Leyden, Mass. after his removal from Leicester. Since Mr. Rog- 
ers' removal, the church has been supplied pretty constantly with 
preachers, though no one has been regularly ordained over it.* 
There are funds, in lands, to the amount of ^1000, belonging to 
the society, and though called to struggle with difficulties, it has 
ever maintained a respectable standing. It had, in 1812, seventy 
eight communicants in the church, and, at present, there are 
about forty two. Mr. Harris at present officiates in this society 
as their pastor, though he has not been ordained. A part of this 
society were separated, about 1818, and formed a part of a Baptist 
society in the northeast part of Spencer, and to this circumstance 
may be referred, the diminished number of its members. 

There has been a respectable society of Friends in this town 
for a great number of years. In 1732, eight persons filed their 
certificate with the Town Clerk that they belonged to that persua- 
sion, who, either from a mistake in spelling, or to make an angry 
and execrable pun, calls them " those people called Q«ac^-ej-j."t 
As no records are preserved of the early history of this society, we 
have not been able to trace it any farther than to the uniting of 
the families of these eight persons into a society. They had a 
house of worship, which stood where the present meeting house of 
that people stands ; but when it was erected, we have not been 

* Among those ■who supplied the pulpit, was the Rev. Mr. Hill, who is 
now a deservedly acceptable and popular preacher, in New Haven, Conn. 

+ Among^ the original number of those professing themselves Friends, in 
this town, was Mr. Ralph Earle, many of whose descendants of the same 
name, have belonged to this society, and been among the most respectable 
inhabitants of the town. Indeed, most of the members of this society, in this 
town, have been distinguished for their enterprise and intelligence, and have 
ever formed an useful and respectable portion of the population of the town, 
distinguished for their probity, hospitality, and wealth. 



32 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

able to learn. The society, having become nnmerous, and that 
house being old, and somewhat decayed, in 1791, they removed 
the old, and built the present meeting house, which, according to 
Whitney, is a " very good house for their way of worship." It is 
situate in the north part of the town, about one and an half miles 
from the Congregational meeting house. The house is commodi- 
ous, and of good proportions, although destitute of any thing orna- 
mental. The spot in which it stands is retired, and almost sur- 
rounded with forest trees ; around it, repose in their " nameless 
graves," the ashes of those who have died of ihe society. Though 
we do not profess any particular attachment to their "way of wor- 
ship," we know of but few spots more calculated to awaken serious 
reflections than this. A solemn stillness reigns around it, and it 
seems as if it might be one of those few places where the cares of 
the world do not intrude. The society consists, at present, of 
about one hundred and thirty members, not all of whom, however, 
belong to Leicester. 

In 1823, an Episcopalian society was gathered and formed, in 
the south part of Leicester, embracing ihe manufacturing establish- 
ment there, and several families from Oxford North Gore, and from 
Charlton. Among the most active in formmg this society were, 
Mr. Anderton, whose name we have before had occasion to men- 
tion, Samuel Hartwell, Esq. and family, Francis Wilby, an English 
gentleman, resident in Boston, and several other gentlemen, with 
their families, who resided in the vicinity of the church.* 

A very neat church for the use of this society was erected, by 
private subscription, and was consecrated by Bishop Griswold, on 
the last Wednesday in May, 1824. The Rev. Joseph Muenscher 
had previously been employed by the society, and it was now put 
under his pastoral charge. He is the present rector of this church, 
which is in a flourishing state. This was the first Episcopal church 
ever formed in Worcester County, and has had difficulties and dis- 
couragements to encounter, such as usually attend the formation of 
a new society. The church is situated upon the south side of the 
Stafford turnpike, about fifty rods from French River, and the Lei- 
cester and Saxon factories. Mr. Muenscher is a native of Provi- 
dence, and was graduated at Brown University. He studied The- 
ology at Andover, and was admitted to orders by Bishop Griswold, 

* Among the most active of these was Mr. Hezekiah Stone, who liberally 
gave the ground upon which the church is erected, besides conferring other 
acts of liberality. 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 33 

in March, 1824, immediately after which, he took charge of the 
church in Leicester. His marriage with a daughter of the hite Jo- 
seph Washburn, was, we beheve, the first ever consummated in 
this county in Episcopal form. 

Such are some of the outlines of the ecclesiastical history of the 
town of Leicester, which, though necessarily imperfect, are suffi- 
cient to show, that the inhabitants of the town have been highly 
favored, in general, in respect to the important interests of religious 
instruction. Many of their teachers have been eminent for their 
faithfulness and abilities ; and, on the other hand, the people have 
generally shown a good degree of liberality in contributing to the 
support of their clergymen. The utmost harmony and good feU 
lowship has uniformly prevailed among the different sects and so- 
cieties in town, each extending to the others, that courtesy and 
confidence which become those professing the same faith, though 
differing, in some particulars, in their mode of worship and form of 
government. In the interchange of civilities, in the election of civ- 
il officers, and in almost all the relations of society and social life, 
no distinction is made between members of different societies. 
Each is left to worship God according to the dictates of his con- 
science, and the consequence has been, that the town has flourish- 
ed and prospered, while many, possessing equal natural advantag- 
es, have been distracted by intestine divisions, and lost that elevat- 
ed rank they might otherwise have held. 

Civil History. — We feel no inconsiderable reluctance to at- 
tempt the civil history of this town, for the records have been 
found so imperfect, and the traditionary accounts so vague, that we 
are aware of our inability to do any thing like justice to the sub- 
ject, and that it must be extremely imperfect, even in relation to 
those portions that are the most interesting and important. But 
we have been able to glean enough from its records and the recol- 
lection of some of its aged inhabitants to furnish to a more patient 
and successful laborer a clue, by which to guide his future inves- 
tigations. 

According to the Massachusetts Register, annually published in 
Boston, the town of Leicester is the fifth incorporated, in what is 
now the County of Worcester, and was incorporated, ngreeably 
with the record we have before copied, in 1713. Whitney incor- 
rectly places this event in 1720, or 1721. 

As early as 1721, the town had begun fo exercise the powers 
of an incorporated town, by choosing all the officers belonging to 



34 HISTOIVy OF LKICESfER. 

such a town, and was, moreover, represented in the General Court 
ot the Province, though no record of any choice is to be found un- 
til the next year, when the same men who represented them the 
year before were again chosen.* 

The first Corn Mill in town was erected in 1722, and as an in- 
ducement to build it, the town voted that it should forever be 
exempt from taxation. It stood, as is believed, on the north side 
of the great post road, about half a mile from the meeting house. 

Although quite a number of town meetings were held, and 
their transactions recorded, previous to 1724, we do not find his 
Majesty's name made use of, in any way, previous to that time, 
when a meeting was first called '^ in his Majesty's name." This, 
however, was rather the result of accident, or imperfect records, 
than from any want of loyalty, or from the preponderance of re- 
publican feelings ; since, at that day, loyalty and patriotism were 
convertible terms, and even at a later day. some of the leading men 
in town were distinguished for their loyalty .1 

We have not been able to ascertain to what extent the inhabitants 
of the town suffered from the depredations of the Indians. They un- 
doubtedly shared in the horrors of the wars which the natives car- 
ried on against the people of the province. In 1726, the town was 

* The Hon. John Minsie was the person elected. He was a leading man 
in town and appears to have been very respectable and influential. He re- 
moved from Roxbury to Leicester, and is usually stiled Judge Minsie in the 
records of the town. When or where he held that office, we have not been 
able to ascertain. He resided upon a tract of 500 acres, which he owned, 
around the Henshaw Pond, and was long remembered for having introduced 
the " While Weed,'''' principally, we believe, on account of its beauty. 

t Among these, we would name with respect, the Hon. Thomas Steel, 
Esq. a native of Boston, who removed to I^eicester and built a dwelling house 
about half a mile east of the meeting house which is yet standing (called the 
Southgate house.) He was liberally educated, and graduated at Cambridge, 
in 1730, and stands upon the catalogue of that year, when each student's 
name was arranged according to his relative rank in life, the fourth in order ; 
the first being the famous Peter Oliver, to whom the province afterwards owed 
so much of its difficulties and distress. Mr. Steel, was bred a merchant, 
and pursued that business till his removal from Boston to Leicester, where 
he also kept a store. He was, from 1756 to 1774, an associate judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas in Worcester County, and always remained firm in 
his loyalty to the King. It is noticable, that the mest spirited resolutions of 
the town against the aggressions of the mother country, previous to 1770, are 
recorded in the town records in his hand writing — a kind of involuntary trea- 
son that he dare not refuse to commit. He was wealthy when he first came 
to this town ; but owing to misfortunes, his wealth became very much reduc- 
ed. His influence, until the revolution, was, deservedly great; for he was a 
man of intelligence and integrity. He was several times chosen to represent 
the town, in the General Court, and successively held most of the responsible 
offices. 



HISTORY Otf LEICESTER. 35 

at the expense of erecting a garrison, as it was called, around the 
house of Mr. Parsons, to protect them from the attacks of the sav- 
ages. This was a little north east of the meeting house. There 
were other garrisons, for the same purpose, erected in otlier parti 
of the town. One of these, was near the dwelling house, belong- 
ing to the Henshaw family, near the Henshaw pond, and its outlines 
may be traced now. The house occupied by John King, Esq. in 
the south part of Leicester, upon the Oxford road, was also, as is 
believed, a garrison house, and marks of musket balls are yet said 
to be visible in parts of it, which can be referred only to the times 
of the Indian wars. Another garrison was near Mr. Jonah Earle's 
dwelling house. 

The town seems to have been troubled in its fiscal concerns 
for some time after its settlement. The inhabitants, immedi;itely 
upon their removing here, assumed the expenses of schools and 
the support of a minister, which, together with the necessary high- 
ways they were compelled to make, rendered their expenses bur- 
densome ; especially, as much of the land in town became, in the 
course ofj^ears, either the property of a few individuals in town, or 
of those, who, residing out of it, were exempt from the burdens of 
the resident proprietors. They lived too, at a time when false no- 
tions of wealth and public economy prevailed. An unhealthy, and 
almost worthless currencj', had inundated the state, and the gener- 
al complaint of a scarcity of money prevailed throughout the prov- 
ince. The inhabitants of this town, in common with the majority 
of the people of the province, were deceived into an opinion that 
the difficulties under which all were laboring might be removed 
by new emissions of paper money, which must ever be worthless, 
when it ceases to be the representative of real wealth, and so re- 
deemable that its nominal, may become its actual value, at the will 
of the holder. In 17i!7, an emission of £60,000 in paper money, 
was made by the Legislature, and loaned to the people of the prov- 
ince, the interest arising from which was to go towards the sup- 
port of government. This town appointed trustees to receive its 
proportion of this grant and to loan it to the inhabitants, so that no 
one should have more than ten, nor less than five pounds. 

The question as to the value of the currency, tVom time to lime, 
in the early history of NewF.ngland, though interesting and important 
in a historical poifit of view is attemled vvitli too much labor and 
difficulty and u'A>ild occupy too much time for us to attempt to set- 
tle. Its fluctuations were so frequent, and it« depreriHtion often 



36 HISTORV OF LEICESTER. 

SO great, that what, at first sight, may seem enormous sums, when 
reduced by the scale of depreciation, for the time being, dwindle 
into comparative insignificance. The depreciation of the money 
was not so great, before the year 1745, as it afterwards was. The 
only criterion which we possess to ascertain any thing like its stand- 
ard value is, a comparison of the prices of labor and produce at 
different times, during our history. In 1726, four shillings per day, 
were allowed by the town for labor upoa a " garrison" they were 
then building. In 1754, two shillings per day for men, and one 
shilling for a yoke of oxen were allowed upon the highways. In 
1774, three shillings per day for men were allowed. In 1780, so 
rapid had the money depreciated, that six pounds per day were 
paid for labor on the highways. In 1775, the delegate in the 
Provincial Congress from this town, received five shillings per day 
for his services. The same sum was paid, in 1788, to representa- 
tives in the General Court, while Senators had five shillings and 
sixpence, and Counsellors six shilling*, per day. The compensa- 
tion of members of Congress from this State was fixed, that year, 
at four dollars per day. The next year, this town gave their rep- 
resentative but four shillings per day. In 1790, labor on the high- 
ways was fixed at three shillings per day, and the next year, at 
two. In the year 1752, one pound, lawful money, was paid for 
boarding a school master six weeks; and in 1779, the member of 
the convention that formed the Constitution, from this town, paid 
one hundred and eighty two dollars per week, for his board. In 
1780, the ratio of depreciation of the old money was, as 40 to 1. 

In 1776, a committee was appointed, agreeably to a resolve of 
the General Court, to fix the prices at which labor, produce, &c. 
then stood, and this estimation must have been made in reference 
to a currency then at par. The list of articles, prepared and re- 
ported by this committee, was very large, and we will only trans- 
scribe a few items from the report, for the purpose of comparing 
them with the same articles at the present day. Labor, per day, 
in the summer, was estimated at three shillings ; and in the winter, 
at half that sum : by the year, at twenty pounds. Men's shoes, at 
eight shillings per pair; horse hire, at two pence per mile : shoe- 
ing a horse, five and sixpence ; a good gun and bayonet at eighty 
four shillings; Indian corn, at three shillings; Rye, at four and 
sixpence ; wheat, at six shillings per bushel : Butter, nine pence ; 
Beef, three and a half pence per pound ; salt pork, at eight pence, 
per pound : and " Toddy and Flip''' at one shilling "per mug.'''' 



HISTORY or LEICESTER. 37 

The depreciation of the currency was not confined to the emis- 
sions from this state. In 1785, five dollars of the Rhode Island 
currency, and eight dollars of that of New Hampshire, were worth 
but three shillings here. But we are approaching too extensive a 
subject for our means or time to master, and must therefore leave 
it for some curious and patient antiquarian. 

It would be impossible to fix the actual state of the depreciation 
at different times ; since it was so rapid, and withal so fluctuating, 
that a person was chosen by this town, in 1786, to report, as often as 
once a week, to the inhabitants, the value of the paper money and 
public securities. 

The early records of the town are quite imperfect, and only a 
partial account of the transactions they purport to record, can be 
gleaned from them : we can, therefore, hardly pursue a correct 
chronological order in relating those circumstances which we have 
been able to gather respecting its history. Many of the votes 
passed and some of the officers chosen are not perfectly obvious in 
their necessity or policy. We can hardly conceive the necessity 
for a " clerk of the market" in a place where none bought, and 
few sold any thing of a marketable character, yet that office, as 
well as that of deer-reeve, was regularly filled for a great many 
years after the incorporation of the town. Another officer who 
was chosen annually for many years, but, though a statute officer, is 
now discontinued, was a " warden." The best solution ot this 
was offered by an elderly gentleman, of whom we enquired the 
use, that coming from Old England our fathers wanted to have 
every thing here as they had left them at home. 

The inhabitants were troubled, for many years, by the proprie- 
tors of the lands, most of which then lay common, taking cattle from 
abroad to pasture upon these common lands ; and in order to pre- 
vent this, they levied a tax of ten shillings per head, upon all cat- 
tle so taken to be fed ; and a still more singular vote was passed, 
that all rams running at large should be "free plunder," and any 
one who should take such, might have them, for his own. 

Although, as we have seen, the people of the town must have 
been far from wealthy, for many years after settling here, they 
were not burthened with taxes for the support of the poor until 
1745, when provision was made for the support of a poor child 
that happened to be in need : not many years after, a small sum 
was appropriated to help a poor man to provide himself with a 
cow. It is impossible now to ascertain the precise amount which 



•-"J HISTORY OF LBJCESTER, 

has been expended for the support of the poor of the town since 
that time. We may safely assert, that from five to eight hundred 
dollars are annually expended, for this purpose, at present. 

The people of the town were affected, in common with those ot 
the whole of New England, by the early wars with the French, and 
furnished men, from time to time, to aid the expeditions which were 
carried on by the Province. The meagerness of the records leaves 
us in uncertainty, as to the numbers actually engaged in these vvars, 
from this town. But when the Grand Canada expedition, as it was 
called, was planned by Governor Shirley, in 1746, to drive the 
French from their North American possessions, this town furnished 
men for the army then raised, and, as an additional compensation 
for their sacrifices, their taxes were abated by the town. 

Every thing favored a prevalence of loyal feelings among the 
people of New England, at this period, and in Leicester, no less 
than in other parts of the country ; some of its most leading men 
were natives of Great Britain, and had all the ties of kindred, be- 
sides the natural feeling of attachment to the place of their birth, 
to bind them to the mother country. Richard Southgate, and Dan- 
iel Denny, both of them influential men in their da}^, were natives 
of Coombs, in Suffolk county, in England.* They left Coombs in 
June, 1715, and arrived in Boston in September. The next year, 
Southgate went back to England and returned with his family, and 
Dr. Thomas Prince, who had been the clergyman of Coombs, and 
was afterwards settled in Boston, the venerable annalist of New 
England. They arrived in Boston, in July, 1717; in the March 
following, Southgate and family, and Denny and family, removed to 
Xeicester. Mr. Denny settled upon the farm, still in possession of 
the family, about two miles south east from the meeting-house. He 
was a brother of Dr. Prince's wife, and of Major Denny, as he is 
called, who settled, about the year 1728, in Maine, where he be- 
came a man of wealth and influence, being, at the time of his 
death, first Judge of the "court of pleas," and president of the 
court of sessions in the county of Lincoln.! 

* Richard Southgate was born in 1673, and died at the ag-e of 88 years, in 
1758. Daniel Denny was born 1694, and died April 16, 1760, at the age of 
66 years. 

tRichard Southgate had two sons, Stuart and Richard : the first, the 
father of the Hon. Robert Southgate, of Scarborough, Maine, and of the late 
Capt. John Southgate, whose family still reside in Leicester. The children 
of Richard were more numerous, and one branch of his family only, bearing 
his name, remains in Leicester — the children of his son Isaac. 

Danitl Denny had two sons, Thomas and Samuel. Both of them we shall 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 39 

The precise cumber of men furnished by tbia town during the 
several French wars, as they were called, cannot now be precisely 
ascertained; that it was never backward in furnishing its quotas, 
the facts which are recorded of those times, and iheir promptness 
in subsequent calls, most clearly prove. 

One man 3'et survives, at the advanced age of 86, who was a 
soldier from 1756 to 1761, and was in the memorable affair of Fort 
William Henry, in 1757, when so many English and Americans 
were massacred by the savages of Montcalm's army. His name is 
Knight Sprague, a native of Kingham, from which place he march- 
ed, in 1756. The next year, he was with Col. Bradstreet at the 
taking of Fort Frontinac, on Lake Ontario. His memory is yet ac- 
curate and tenacious. Fort William Henry was surrendered, ac- 
cording to his account, about 10 o'clock on Wednesday morning, 
and the English were detained till the next morning and guarded 
by the French. As soon however as the army had left the fort, to 
take up their march, according to the terms of capitulation, the 
Indians rushed upon them, and began to strip and kill the prison- 
ers, oprague escaped, after being partially stripped. — His captain 
wao stripped naked, as were many women, he passed, in his 
flight, towards Fort Edward. Of the half company to which he 
belonged, fifteen out of the fifty, were killed, that day. Monro, the 
British commander, as represented by Sprague, was a dignified 
man of about fifty years of age. Montcalm was a fine looking man, 
extremely well formed, and very active and graceful, but small in 
stature. 

The inhabitants of this town early felt, and boldly expressed, an 
opposition to those acts of the mother country which tended to cut- 
tail the liberties of the colonies. At this day, it is difficult to real- 
ize, in all their forces, the feelings of the colonists from 1763 till 
their independence was acknowledged. History has done them 
justice as a nation, and eulogies upon the prominent leaders in that 
struggle have preserved their names and handed them down to pos- 
terity with a lustre which time cannot dim. But injustice must, of 
necessity, have been done to those no less deserving men, who, in 
the private circles, the village meetings, and the smaller assem- 
blies of the people, kept alive that sacred flame that burned so 

• have occasion to mention hereafter. Thf. son of Thomaa was the late Col. 
Thomas, and father of the present Thomas Uenny. .'?aniiiel had several 
sons, among -whom, was the Hon. Nathaniel P. Denny. 'I'hese families: 
have ever held a highly respectabU' station in society, and had deserved in- 
fluence in town. 



40 ' HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

brightly through the land. It is surprising to read, on the records 
of obscure villages and towns, resolutions and sentiments that would 
have done credit to the hall of Congress. We do not speak un- 
guardedly. Resolutions are now preserved in our town records, 
which were prepared and acted upon in the years of the American 
revolution, that only want the name of a statesman as their author, 
to make them rank in interest and importance with those which 
have been so generally and justly admired. In this town, though 
its population must have been small, though its inhabitants had en- 
joyed none but ordinary means of education, and though, as it is 
believed, no one, except their clergyman, of the whig party, had 
ever enjoyed the means of a public education, and many of the 
foremost men were even destitute of a good common education, its 
records cannot now be read, without exciting admiration at the 
knowledge and discrimination of political principles and of public 
wrongs and injuries which those records evince. 

The town were in the habit of giving to their representatives 
instructions upon those topics upon which they felt the most inter- 
est. This began in 1765, when John Brown was chosen their rep- 
resentative in the General Court of the Province. A committee was 
then appointed to draft resolutions, of which, Daniel Henshaw was 
chairman ; the report was presented to the people, in town meeting, 
and there accepted. It will be impossible to do justice to any of 
these papers, by the few extracts we shall be able to give, but their 
length renders the entire insertion impossible. 

The state of the controversy, at that time, is too well known to 
need a recapitulation of its history here, in order to understand the 
sketches we shall give. The contest about taxing the colonies 
was high ; the stamp act had been passed ; and the popular excite- 
ment had extended so far, in Boston, as to lead to the destruction of 
Governor Hutchinson's house by the mob. The instructions to 
Capt. Brown, alluded to " the then critical juncture of time and af- 
fairs," and expressed the expectation that their representative will 
maintain " their natural rights ; their rights as Englishmen, which 
derive to them as subjects of Great Britain, and those granted them 
by charter." They charge him to be frugal of the money belong- 
ing to the government, and to be strictly careful that it be not 
drawn out of the treasury, but by appropriation of the General 
Court ; as any other course would be, virtually, taxing the people 
contrary to the constitution, and ia subversion of one of their dar- 
ling rights. They speak of the levying taxes, and the "stamp act, 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 41 

which, they cannot hut think, is contrary to the rights of man, suh- 
versive of the English constitution, and directly tending to bring 
them into a state of abject slavery and vassalage : that they purchas- 
ed and settled this country, without expense to Great Britain, and 
have cheerfully contributed to advance her glory and prosperity, 
and therefore expect all the privileges of citizens of that govern- 
ment : that they esteem it an essential privilege to he taxed by 
their representatives, and that they had no voice in levying the 
stamp act, so burdensome, especially, upon the widow and father- 
less." The instructions also refer to the stretch of admiralty pow- 
ers of the court, more alarming than the stamp act itself, "by 
which, every man, at the option of a malicious informer, is liable 
to be carried a thousand miles before a court of vice admiralty ; 
there tried without jury, amerced by an arbitrary judge, and taxed 
with costs, as he shall please ; and if the parties have not where- 
with to satisfy the same, to die in prison in a foreign land, without 
friends to bury them : this we apprehend to be repugnant to the 
magna charta, by which no freeman shall he taken, imprisoned, or 
deprived of his liberties, or free customs, nor passed upon, nor con- 
demned, but by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of 
the land. The love we bear to our fellow subjects of Great Britain, 
the love and duty we owe to ourselves and posterity, yea, the 
first instinct of nature, the great law of self preservation, all appear 
contrary to said act." They proceed to lament the state into 
which the country was thrown, and reprobate, in the strongest 
terms, the riots that had taken place: they express their surprise 
and regret at the Governor's imputing these to Lhe people of the 
Province ; charge the representative by no means to agree to any 
thing which might show a willingness to submit to the obnoxious 
acts of Parliament, nor to consent to make good the damages sus- 
tained by the Governor in the riot, since that might lead to such 
practices in future. 

Our extracts, though somewhat liberal, convey but a slight idea 
of the spirit, or style and language of the paper. Its length alone, 
precludes our inserting it entire ; for nothing can better show the 
precise state of public feeling, at that time, than documents like 
this, in which it is so undisguisedly expressed. We cannot but 
again repeat our surprise, at the high state of excitement which so 
early prevailed in a community, which was, comparatively, destitute 
of newspapers and posts, by which, at the present day, a feeling in, 
one part of the nation is. at once, communicated to every part. The 



«c 



42 niSTORY OF LEICE3TEK. 

men, who, in language like that we have transcribed, could talk of 
tho principles of the British constitution, the magna charta, and of 
trial by jury, were but a chance selection from the general mass 
of the people, pursuing the same callings, and possessing the same 
adv^arilages with them, and during an adjournment of their meeting 
for an hour, wrought such sentiments into a report which was unan- 
imously accepted by the people of the town. It is unnecessary to 
repeat, that the efforts of their representative, in pursuance of his 
instructions, were unavailing. The continued aggressions of the 
crown disclosed, how little the government regarded the first mov- 
ings of that mighty flood that was to overwhelm them. 

After the dissolution of the Genera! Court of the Province, by 
flie Governor, in 1768, the town of Boston passed several very spir- 
ited resolutions ; in accordance with these, and in consequence of 
the alarming crisis of affairs, this town adopted sundry resolutions, 
in which thej-^ condemn the dissolution of General Court, and the 
tlelay in sumnaoning another, as real grievances, and chose a dele- 
gate to meet with a convention, in Boston, called by the recommen- 
dation of the people of that town, in consequence of the delay of 
the Governor in calling a new General Court, Capt. John Brown 
was chosen their delegate, and instructed not to sutler any thing to 
be done rashly, and that every mild measure be adopted that might 
be consistent with the duties of Englishmen, claiming their rights. 

This town very promptly united in preventing the importation 
of English goods, with those, who hoped, by this measure, to make 
the people in the various sections, feel the importance of the Amer- 
ican market for t:ieir prosperity, and therefore combine, to prevent 
the ministry from persevering in measures, so ruinous to the moth- 
er country, as well as the colonies. At a town meeting, held in 
.Tannarjf, 1770, they voted not to purchase of those merchants in 
Boston, who imported goods from Great Britain ; and at the same 
time, voted their thanks (o those merchants, who, by refusing to 
import such goods, sacriiiced (heir own interest to the good of 
their country.* 

*This meetinof was calleu, in consequence of the following; petition, from 
snndry individuals to the Seli-ctmen, dated Dec. 25, 1769, viz. — Whereas, 
there are several piTsons in this province who have sordidly detached them- 
selves from the public interest, and have taken advanta;;;e of the a;::reenient 
entered into by the merchants for non-impiutation, thereby endeavoring; 
fo defeat their noble desijjn of savins; their country from slavery : We, the 
subscribers, will endeavor, by all lawful means, to prevent their base designs, 
and for that end, we pray that you will grant a warrant for the calling a 
town meeting, to act on the following articles, viz. — To rote that any person. 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 43 

The defect of newspapers at that day was, so far as the oppo- 
sition to the crown was concerned, pretty well supplied by pam- 
phlets and similar publications from the press, which were liber- 
ally scattered through the land. Whatever was thus sent, was sure 
to be read. The selectmen of this town, having- received one of 
these, together with a circular letter from the town of Boston, in 
1772, immediately summoned the town together to hear them read. 
The pamphlet was one " wherein the rights of the colonists, and 
the infringement thereof, are set forth.'" After hearing it, the town 
voted, that '• the righls,as there stated, do belong to the inhabitants 
of this province," and chose a committee, of which Capt. Brown 
was chairman, to prepare resolutions in accord with the pamphlet. 
Among these, they express their allegiance to the King ; their wil- 
lingness to risk their lives and fortunes in defence of their rights; 
that Parliament had passed laws subversive of their rights and priv- 
ileges; that "the British Parliament, or any other power on earth, 
had no right to dispose of one cent of their property without their 
consent, in person, or by representatives ; and that carrying any per- 
son out of this province, or beyond sea, for any supposed crime, is 
contrary to the magna charta, and unconstitutional." They, at the 
same time, gave instructions to their representative, Thomas Den- 
ny, Ksq. wherein they recapitulate the wrongs to be redressed. 
Among others, that the Governor is independent of the people for 
his salary, and the Judges dependent on the crown, when they 
ought to be independent both of prince and people, in order to an 
impartial administration of justice ; and upon this subject they quote 

being an inhabitant of Leicester, who shall, directly, or indirectly, purchase 
any goods, or merchandize, of John Barnard, James and Patrick McMasters, 
John Main, Anne and Elizabeth Cumming-s, all of Boston, Henry Barnet, of 
Marlborough, Dunkin & Campbell, of Worcester, or any other person who 
imports goods from Great Britain, or shop keeper who purchases goods of an 
importer, contrary to the agreement entered into by the merchants of Boston, 
such persons, so offending, shall be deemed enemies to America, and as such, 
shall be recorded in the town's book of records." 

This was from the pen of Col. William Henshaw, and was signed by twen- 
ty eight persons, among whom were Nathan Sargent, David Henshaw, John 
Southgate, Thomas Newhall, &c. 

In May, 1770, a company of forty six men, from this town, formed them- 
selves into a body, for the purpose of learning the manual exercise, drill, &c. 
of the soldier. They elected Wm. Henshaw their Captain, Seth Washburn, 
Jjieutenant, and Samuel Denny, Ensign ; and so intent were they upon be- 
coming properly instructed in these essential qualifications of soldiers, that 
they devoted certain afternoons in each week for the purpose, and punctually 
attended to the duty, although the season of the year seemed to require their 
constant attention to their farms. Five only of the company yet survive : 
Benjamin Watson, William Wateon, Marmaduke Earle, Abner Dunbar, and 
•Tnnathan Hubbard. 



44 . HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

freely, from a popular and patriotic work of the day, whose author 
is not given. They urge a petition to the King, in hopes of success, 
as the Earl of Hillsborough had then been dismissed from the min- 
istry and a nobleman friendly to the colonies succeeded him. They, 
at the same time, recommended an intercourse with the other col- 
onies "as we are embarked in a common cause." "In tine, when 
we reflect upon the evils our forefathers underwent in the settle- 
ment of this country, the dangers to which they stood continually 
exposed from an insidious and blood thirsty foe, and the blood and 
treasure they expended, we think ourselves justly entitled to all 
the calamities an envious despot can heap upon us, should we tame- 
ly and pusillanimously suffer the execution of them," (the laws re- 
specting the colonies.) " It would be despising the bounties of our 
creator ; an infamous prostitution of ourselves, and a total disregard 
10 posterity." 

We do not feel at liberty, in the space allotted us, to make ex- 
tracts from all the resolutions which were passed by the inhabitants 
of this town : for there was not a year elapsed, in which they did 
not express a sense of their grievances, and that with a degree of 
determination, constantly gaining strength and boldness, as the strug- 
gle progressed. We cannot forbear adding a few more extracts, to 
those we have already given. 

In 1773, the town again chose Thomas Denny their Repre- 
sentative, and, among other instructions to him, recommend a stand- 
ing committee of correspondence, as suggested by the House of 
Burgesses of Virginia, and enjoin upon him an effort to put an end 
to slavery and the elave trade in this province. In December, of 
the same year, they expressed their feelings upon the continued 
encroachments of the Crown, and denounced the levy of duties on 
imported articles, pledging themselves to oppose, to the utmost of 
their power, and at the hazard of their lives, any imposition un- 
constitutionally laid upon them. They, at the same time, resolved 
that they would not use any tea, " while loaded with a tribute, con- 
trary to their consent," and that, whoever shall use "that destruc- 
tive herb," shall be deemed inimical to his country, as endeavor- 
ing to counteract the doings of those, who were zealous for its well- 
fare. A resolution of thanks to Boston, was voted. A committee 
of fourteen was appointed, to examine as to the use of tea in town, 
and to report the names of those who made use of it. And a copy 
of these resolutions was sent to the committee of correspondence 
in Boston. 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 45 

In May, 1774, after the harbor of Boston had been blocked up, 
by order of the British Parliament, a circular letter was received 
from Boston, to which the town immediately replied, expressing a 
spirit of becoming indignation at such an act of tyranny, and assur- 
ed the Bostonians of the readiness of the people of this town to 
stand by them in their distress. *' The cause," say they, " is in- 
teresting to all America, and all America must be convinced of thii 
great truth, that by uniting, we shall stand." 

The Court of Sessions of this county, this year, had made an 
address to the Governor, in which they reflected, with great se- 
verity, upon the conduct of the friends of liberty, calling their 
meetings, mutinous and tumultuous. This, immediately, in July, 
brought the inhabitants of this town together, and in a series of 
spirited resolutions, they expressed the feelings which that address 
had excited. They lamented the melancholy state of affairs, and, 
after stating that "their meeting was not holden riotously, tumul- 
tnously, and seditiously, but soberly and seriously, as men, as free- 
men, and as christians," they recapitulated their rights under the 
charters of Charles, and William and Mary, " to the end that pos- 
terity may know what our claims are, and to what struggles we 
are called in defence of them." They then resolved, ''that any 
power that shall attempt to nullify, or destroy said charter, in the 
whole, or in part, put, itself into a state of war with the Province :" 
that they would, "even to the risque of their lives and fortunes, 
support and maintain the execution of the laws of this Province, as 
established by the charier and Legislature thereof:" that they 
would not purchase any goods imported from England, after the 
31st of August, then next, nor purchase of any importer, any goods, 
until the harbor of Boston be opened and the tea duty taken off:" 
and that " it is the duty of all of the age of discretion, to inform 
themselves of their rights as men, as members of society, and by 
the English constitution." In addition to these, which are but a part 
of a series of the resolutions then passed, they deny the assertions 
contained in the address of the Court, and condemn, it in the strong- 
est terms. A covenant not to purchase goods imported from Eng- 
land, had, before this time, been signed by many in town, and a com- 
mittee was appointed to present this covenant to all persons who 
had not already signed it. This, it will be recollected, was in 
July, 1774: in September, of the same year, the towa met, and 
voted, to mount their cannon, and directed the selectmen to attend 
to all those not provided with fire arms. They also voted, that 
all differences bet ween individuals should be settlsd by reference. 



46 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 



The General Court was ordered to be convened at Salem, iu 
October of the same year, and Thomas Denny was again chosen to 
represent this town. He was instructed to refuse to be sworn by 
any person, except such as might be appointed according to the 
charter; and by no means to be sworn by the Lieutenant Governor, 
" who has taken the oaths as counsellor by mandamus from the 
King:" nor to act with the council appointed by mandamus: and 
that he should refuse to adjourn to Boston while garrisoned by 
troops: if any thing impeded their acting at Salem, he was directed 
to repair to Concord, and join the Provincial Congress, to be con- 
vened there on the second Tuesday of October. At a subsequent 
meeting, they concluded not to send any other member to the Con- 
gress than Col. Denny, and in their instructions to him, in that ca- 
pacity, they directed him to endeavor to have the militia put upon 
the most respectable footing : to provide cannon for each town ; 
"for we know not, say they, how soon we may be called to action r" 
that the Treasury be removed from Boston ; to enquire why Bos- 
ton neck and common is entrenched, and to cause the fortifications 
to be demolished ; that the daily loss sustained by that town be es- 
timated, and that the non-consumption covenant be religiously ob- 
served ; a proper intercourse kept up with the other colonies, and 
Canada, and Nova Scotia, in order to unite them. He is also di- 
rected, " to endeavor that those contumacious persons who have 
endeavored to subvert the government, by being sworn, and acting 
as counsellors by mandamus, be apprehended, and held to trial ;" 
and that a day of thanksgiving and prayer be set apart to God, 
for his goodness the past year in discovering the machinations of 
their enemies, and for the bounties of his Providence. Col. Denny 
attended this Congress, but was taken sick at Cambridge, where it 
was sitting, returned to Leicester, and Col. Joseph Henshaw was 
chosen to supply his place. In the same year, in November, the 
town procured one barrel of powder, and four hundred weight of 
balls, for their cannon, and appointed a committee " to supply those 
who might be called to march in defence of their rights, with pro- 
visions."* In December, a committee was chosen, to carry into et- 

* Resolutions, expressing the feelings that then actuated every class, were 
formed, to aid the general cause. At a meeting of the Blacksmiths of the 
County of Worcester, holden at Worcester, on the 8th of November, 1774, at 
which Ross Wyman was chairman, and Timothy Bigelow was clerk, they re- 
solved not to work for any persons whom they esteemed enemies to their 
country, from and after the first day of the next December. These were the 
lories, counsellors by mandamus who had not resigned, every one who pub- 
licly addressed Gov. Hutchinsoa at his departure from the province, and 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 47 

feet the resolves of the Continental and Provincial Congresses, the 
only law givers they then acknowledged. This committee consist- 
ed of Col, Joseph Henshaw, Hezekiah Ward, Esq. Capt. Jonathan 
Newhall, Joseph Sargent, Selh Washburn, Samuel Denny, Thom- 
as Newhall, and Samuel Green. The town appointed men to man- 
age their cannon, and voted to have a contribution taken up, for 
the benetit of the poor in the town of Boston. The Provincial , 
Congress had recommended to the several towns, to withhold the 
amount of their annual taxes from Harrison Gray, who was the 
State Treasurer under the royal government, before the commence- 
ment of the difficulties in the colonie.s, and was still Treasurer ; and 
that they should pay them over to Henry Gardiner, Esq. of Stow, 
as the Treasurer for the province. With this recommendation, the 
town complied, and directed the amount of their taxes to be paid 
accordingly.* The militia of the town were called together, and a 
company of minute men drafted, who were to be ready to march 
whenever occasion required, at tiie shortest notice. Each soldier 
signed articles of enlistment, prepared by a committee of the town. 
This company was put under the command of Capt. Seth Wash- 
burn. 

Col. Joseph Henshaw was again chosen representative to the 
Provincial Congress, in 1775, and urgently enjoined to procure 
that body to assume the powers of government, to prevent that an- 
archy and ruin with which the state was threatened. This was, 
indeed, a dark and trying hour. The arm of civil power had been 
unnerved. The same acts that resisted the tyranny of the mother 
government, annihilated the salutary restraint of those laws which 
had been enacted, for there was no power to execute them. It 
seemed as if the land was to become a prey to the abandoned and 
unprihcipled. But there was found to be a redeeming power in 
the land J a power before which the wicked trembled, and the 

every person exercising authority to carry into execution any of the oppre«- 
sive acts of Parliament, it was particularly resolved, that they would do no 
work for Timothy Ru^gles, of Hardwick, John Murray, of Rutland, and 
James Putnam, of Worcester, EsqVs. n^r for any one in their employment. 
They also refused to work for all who had not signed the " non-consumptioa 
covenant," as it was called, and not only these, but every one, who should 
"Work for, or be employed by these interdicted persons. And in addition to (heir 
own resolutions, which they printed, they called upon all denominations of 
artificers to form similar associations and agreements. To these resolulionB 
the names of forty three were affixed, among which was that of Selh V\ ash- 
burn, from Leicester. 

* Mr. Gardiner wai, afterwards, the first State Treasurer under the consti- 
tution of 1780 



48 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

strong' boweJ ; the force of public and patriotic feeling was sul!i- 
cient to check all disorders. At the meeting, in December, 1774, 
the town voted to aid the civil ofhcers in arresting and securing 
riotous and disorderly persons, thus giving to the officers of justice 
the aid of public opinion, the most powerful of all supports. 

In January succeeding, (1775) the town voted a bounty to each 
minute man, and, if called to march, (as they express an opinion 
they will be, before May then next,) to be allowed "the province 
pay," and they provided them all with ball pouches. All who 
were engaged in the province service were exempt from taxation, 
and yet, amidst all these fearful notes of preparation, though an at- 
tempt was made to suspend the schools and repairs to the highways, 
the town refused to suspend them. For the first six months of the 
year, they were represented in the Provincial Congress, by Deac. 
Oliver Watson, of Spencer, (then forming a district of Leicester, for 
the purposes of representation) : for the remainder of the year, they 
were represented by Hezekiah Ward, Esq. In 1776, they chose 
Seth Washburn, to represent them in the General Assembly, and 
instructed him, by no means to consent to stopping the passage into 
Boston harbor, as had been proposed by the former Assembly, to 
prevent the enemy again coming into port, because it would tend 
to ruin the trade of Boston entirely. For some time before the de- 
claration of Independence, by the Congress of 1776, had been made, 
the policy of that measure had been freely discussed, and advocat- 
ed, or condemned, according to the hopes and wishes of the disput- 
ants. A meeting was had, in May, 1776, the 22d day of the month, 
in this town, for the express purpose of seeing if the town would 
uphold Congress in declaring the colonies independent of Great 
Britain, when they unanimously voted " that in case the Hon. the 
Continental Congress should declare the colonies independent of 
Great Britain, they would support said Congress in effectuating such 
a measure at the risque of their lives and fortunes.'^'' And when, in 
July, this declaration was received, it was read, agreeably to the 
order of Council, in church, by the minister, the first Lord's day after 
receiving it, and was recorded, in a fair legible hand, at full length, 
in the records of the town. The Hon. Joseph Allen, now of Wor- 
cester, was then their clerk. He had taken an active part in all 
the transactions of the day; and, if w.. r^istake not, some of the most 
spirited and interesting papers upon the records of the town were 
the production of his pen.* 

* We regret that we are not able to trace each of these to their proper 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 49 

But it wiis not by resolutions and instructions, however spirited, 
alone, that the people of this town showed theiradherer.ee to the 
cause of liberty. They made many and great sacrifices of their 
wealth, their ease, and comfort, and of lives too. We feel safe in 
affirming, that they promptly answered every call for men, or mon- 
ey, or provisions, during the war of the Revolution. Every quota of 
men was fully furnished, and, in many cases, this became extremely 
burdensome, since the first who enlisted into the Continental Army, 
instead of enlisting for three years, entered the Army "during the 
war," and it was with difficulty, and great expense, that the drafts 
of three and eight month's men were filled, because so many of 
the young men were already in the Army. When the trumpet of 
war was first sounded at Lexington, a company of men belonging to 
Leicester and Spencer, marched, without delay, to the scene of ac- 
tion, and subsequently took an honorable part in the battle on Bunk- 
er Hill. This company was commanded by Capt. Seth Washburn, 
whose Lieutenant was Joseph Livermore, of Spencer, and Ensign 
Loring Lincoln, of Leicester. There are yet six survivors of that, 
company, and from them we have learned some of the particulars 
of their marching from here, and the services they performed. The 
officers of the company, besides those mentioned, were Peleg Her- 
sey, John Brown, Anthony Sprague and William Grossman, Ser- 
geants: Jason Livermore, Hezekiah Saunders, Daniel Hubbard, and 
Elijah Southgate, Corporals. The company was attached to the 
Regiment commanded by Col. Jonathan Ward, of Southborough, 
Lieut. Col. Barnes of Marlborough, and Maj. Timothy Bigelow, of 
Worcester. The news of the engagement at Lexington, arrived 
here, about noon of the next day. The men, constituting the com- 
pany of minute-men, were then engaged upon their respective farms, 
and messengers were dispatched to collect them. Not a moment 
of delay was made on their part ; the plough was left in the furrow ; 
they scarce took time to bid adieu to their families, and in a few 
hours were mustered upon the common in Leicester, and were soon 
on their march. JMany anecdotes are related of the march of this 
company, that would have done honor to the days of Roman or Spar- 
tan virtue. It was truly a trying hour. It was the first time that 
the sound of war had been heard in their own borders for almost 
the life of a generation, and the fearful odds in which they were 

authors. One of them, at least, we believe to have been from the pen of Col. 
Thomas Denny ; some, from that of Col. William llcushaw ; some, from that 
of Joseph Hen.'haw, and several, if we mistake not, from the pen of Mr. 
Allen. 



50 nisTORy of Leicester. 

to be enj^Mged, naturally led to the most gloomy forebodings. The 
mother of the commander of the company, was overwhelmed with 
grief and apprehension at the departure of her son ; but he, in no 
way agitated, bade her a cheerful farewell ; " pray for me," said 
he as he left her, " and I will fight for you." One of the company, 
was the son of Mr. Nathan Sargent. He found it impossible to fur- 
nish himself with lead for musket balls, and to supply this defect, 
hia father directed his son to melt down the weights of a valuable 
clock that was then keeping time, which was at once done, and 
most of the company supplied from this source. The company 
marched a short time before sun down, and continued their advance 
during the night to Marlborough, and, after halting to refresh, con- 
tinued their march to Watertown, where, learning there was no 
immediate need of their services, they halted. They were after- 
wards stationed in Fort No. 2, as it was called, a little north of the 
dwelling house of the late Chief Justice Dana. On the 17th June, 
the Col. of the Regiment was absent, and it was commanded by Lt. 
Col. Barnes, The Regiment left the camp, on that day, about noon, 
and halted some time at Lechmere Point, — the reason for which is 
not known. As the Regiment came to the foot of Bunker Hill, it 
was met by the famous Dr. Church, of Boston, who, for so long a 
time, acted the double part of seeming patriot and actual traitor, 
who informed the commander, that orders were sent to stop any 
more troops going on to the field, and the Regiment halted. Capt. 
Washburn, overhearing these orders, exclaimed in a loud voice, 
that they were " tory orders," and turning to his company, asked 
which of them would follow him. Every man of them marched 
from the line, and followed him into the action. The Regiment 
thus broken, was not again collected during the day. This com- 
pany came into the engagement about a quarter of an hour before 
a retreat was ordered. They took post at the rail fence nearest the 
redoubt, and were engaged until the whole American line retreated. 
No one of the company was killed, although all, except two,* were 
in the action. Capt. Washburn received a ball in his cartouch box, 
four passed through his coat, and one through his wig. Mr. Brown 
was badly wounded in the foot; a private of the name of Ward, was 
wounded in the arm : and Mr. Crossman was also wounded. When 
the Americans were retreating, a ball struck the cord that supported 
the canteen of Mr. Isaac Livermore, and cut it off: but he was too 

* These were Malhew Johnson and Joseph Washburn^ son of the com- 
mander, who were detached on the morning' of the 17th for g;uard duty. 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 51 

careful of his possessions thus to lose a quantity of eau-de-vie that 
it contained, and turning round, returned amidst a shower of bulls, 
picked up the treasure and brought it off safe. When on the march 
to the hill, Capt. Washburn gave leave to any one who felt disin- 
clined to go, to return, but no one availed himself of this license. 
Col. Barnes was tried by a Court Martial for his conduct that daj^, 
but, from some palliating circumstances, was acquitted. 

We have been the more particular in our account of this com- 
pany of men, as it was the first raised in the town which we 
are describing, and these, and other anecdotes connected with the 
Battle of the 17th June, 1775, are attested by living witnesses.* 

Besides those we have named as having marched from this town, 
who took part in the battle of the 17th June, 1775, there are oth- 
ers still residing here, who were also actors in that glorious day. 
Mr. Caleb Barton and Capt. John Holden, who afterwards served 
as an officer during the war of the revolution, are the persons to 
whom we allude. There was residing here, till within a few 
years, a black man, who, we have good reason to believe, was the 
one who shot Maj. Pitcairn, whose death forms so afl'ecting an inci- 
dent in that bloody affray. History relates that he was shot by a 
negro, and from the story of the one we allude to, and many cor- 
roborating circumstances, we are led to conclude that he was the 
person who did the deed. The person to whom we refer was 
named Peter Salem ; he was a servant of Gen. Nixon during the 
revolution, was a native of Framingham, and removed here a few 
years smce, where he died. Major Pitcairn was shot as he was 
mounting the redoubt, and fell into the arms of his son. His loss 
was a severe one to the British, and added not a little to their re- 
gret at the events of that day. 

In April, 1776, the town of Leicester, agreeably to a resolve of 
the General Assembly, raised a sum of money to purchase ammuni- 
tion and entreaching tools, and the same year raised a sum of mon- 
ey to pay for transporting the provisions to Watertown the year be- 
fore, which they had furnished for the army. The poll taxes of 
all from this town who were in the continental army, were abated 
by the town, and the families of these soldiers were taken care of, 
and provided with whatever their necessities required, at the ex- 
pense of their fellow citizens. In 1778, the sum of £30, of the then 

*The names of the survivers are, Nathan Craige, Thomas Sprague, of 
Spencer, Isaac Livermore and Mathow Jackson, of Leicester, Daniel Hubbard 
formerly of Leicester, but now of VVallingford, Vt. and Elias Green. 



52 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

currency, was voted to every continental soldier raised in this town, 
and a committee appointed to estimate the services performed by 
each citizen in the war, to which committee each man rendered an 
account, as well of the money paid by him, as of the services he 
had rendered, for the purpose of equalizing- the burthens among 
the inhabitants. In 1779, the town raised £1000 for the payment of 
enlisted men for the ensuing year, and appointed a committee to 
employ men for this purpose, whenever they should be needed to 
supply the drafts upon the town. In the same year, they raised 
£4000, to pay the soldiers they had hired, and the contingent ex- 
penses attendant upon the same, and in a few months added £500 
to this grant. In 1780, £5000 were, at first, raised for the pay of 
the soldiers, and in July, upwards of £22,000 were raised, one 
half to employ soldiers, and the other half to pay their "six months' 
men," then in the army. They, at the same time, voted one hun- 
dred and ten bushels of corn to every soldier who should march 
from this town, and in November of the same year, £60,000 were 
granted, to pay the soldiers for their services. These sums must 
have been enormous for a town of the size and wealth of this, at 
that time, even after reducing them by the depreciated value of 
the currency, which, as appears by the records of the town, was in 
the ratio of 40 to 1.* 

These were not all the sums raised during this year by the town. 
Frequent calls for Beef were made upon them for the supply of 
the army, and in 1780, they raised £200 of the "new money," to 
comply with one of these calls, and the next year, £80 in silver, were 
appropriated for the same purpose. These sacrifices did not, by 
any means, embrace all that the inhabitants were called upon to 
make. The inhabitants were divided into classes, which, in 1780, 
consisted often, and whenever detachments of soldiers were called 
for, it was the duty of the respective classes to furnish their pro- 
portionate number, either from themselves, or by hiring substitutes. 
The bounties paid, for this purpose, were often large and burden- 
some in the extreme. A sum as high as ^300 was, in some instan- 
ces, paid to induce individuals to enlist. And these sums form no 
part of the computation of the foregoing sums. The classes, not 
only were obliged to go into the neighboring towns to procure 
their quotas, but, in some instances, sent as far as New York to hire 

* We may judge somewhat of the value of the money, from a votn passed 
in 1780, " to pay Capt. Leviston £3 15*. for a horse to go to the takipg f>i 
Burgoyne." 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 53 

those men to enlist whose terms were expiring. The frequency of 
the drafts, and the length of the time for which those who first en- 
listed were holden, drew, in turn, almost every young man in town 
into the " service," at one time or other. The amount raised at 
different times, even in this town, now seems to be incredible, and 
we should almost apprehend some mistake in the matter, if we 
were not assured of the truth of the records by some who are liv- 
ing witnesses of the sufferings and privations of our fathers in 
the struggle. We are assured, by a gentleman of high standing 
and reputation, that his father, who was a respectable farmer in 
that day, was, more than once, compelled to dispose of portions of 
the neat stock from his farm, for the purpose of promptly meeting 
the payment of his proportion of the public taxes. Nor was this 
a solitary instance. 

But we do not mention these instances of voluntary sacrifices, 
as evidence of any peculiar devotedness in this people to the cause 
of patriotism. They probably did no more, in proportion to their 
ability, than other towns around thein. But a detail of these bur- 
dens and sacrifices is enough, without a single comment, to fix the 
character of the town for patriotism and public spirit. They have 
been enough too, we trust, to show, that the spirit of this people 
did not expend itself in idle resolutions, in favor of rights which 
they shrunk from defending in the hour of danger. 

It must strike every one with some surprise, that, during the 
suspension of all judicial and executive authority in the state, the 
great mass of the people should have been kept quiet and orderly. 
It was truly a moral spectacle; it was a nation bursting the bands 
in which they had been bound, and ruling and governing them- 
selves in an orderly and peaceable manner. The force of public 
opinion, at any time great, was then irresistible. The recommen- 
dations of Congress were law, and the committee of safety saw 
that the laws were executed, against whom no one dare rebel. In 
this, they were fully countenanced by the people, who, in their fre- 
quent meetings and discussions of national affairs, became convinced, 
that union and order were necessary to their existence as a people, 
and they had virtue enough to guard these most sacredly. Many 
of the votes upon these subjects we have already mentioned ; others 
are upon the records, a few of which we would add. In 1777, a 
committee was appointed, to ascertain who were unfriendly to the 
government, and report their names to the general sessions of the 
Peace, and one man was voted by the town to be of that class, and 



54 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

reported accordingly. The committees of safety and correspon- 
dence in towns, were usually constituted of the most influential citi- 
zens, whose number and character were sure to carry respect. In 
1777, this committee here, consisted of Col. Joseph Henshaw, John 
Fletcher, Benjamin Richardson, James Baldwin, Jr., Isaac Green, 
Phinehas Newhall, and William Henshaw, and in subsequent years 
was enlarged in numbers. 

In 1776, the inhabitants of this town opposed the attempt made 
by the legislature, to have the people form a constitution of gov- 
ernment, because so many, whose voice should be heard in so im- 
portant a question, were then absent in the service of their coun- 
try. But when the proposal was made in 1779, they unanimously 
voted to instruct their representative to vote for a convention to 
form such a constitution. Seth Washburn and William Henshaw 
were the delegates in that convention from Leicester. When the 
constitution was presented to the people for their acceptance, the 
inhabitants of this town, at a meeting, held June 1, 1780, acted 
upon each of its articles separately, and adopted them almost unani- 
mously, except the 3d article in the Bill of Rights, and some modi- 
fication of one or two other articles, and voted, that if these cor- 
rections could not be eflfected, to accept of the same as it was pre- 
sented to them, and directed their delegates to act accordingly. 
Col. Seth Washburn was chosen the first representative under the 
Constitution, and the votes for Governor, at the first election, were, 
69 for John Hancock, 2 for James Bowdoin, and 1 for James Sul- 
livan. 

From the peace of 1783 till the commencement of the difficulties 
in 1786, nothing of particular interest occurred, deserving a place 
here. The town partook of the excitement of that period, and in 
the year 1786, chose their delegates to represent them in a county 
convention, to whom they detailed the grievances which they wish- 
ed to have remedied. The convention sat in this town, and the 
delegates chosen were David Henshaw, Esq. and the late Col. 
Thomas Denny. They were both decided friends of the govern- 
ment, and possessed firmness of character together with great 
acuteness; and when, at length, the convention met, they so discon- 
certed the measures of those unfriendly to the government, that, 
after an ineffectual attempt to carry them through, the convention 
rose, and their meeting was dissolved without having effected any 
thing. The town also instructed their representative at the Gen- 
eral Court, upon the subject of the real grievances under which 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 55 

they were suffering, and which they wished to have redressed, but 
charged him by no means to agree to any change in the constitu- 
tion of government. They had ever been opposed to the " tender 
act," as unconstitutional, and they now directed their representative 
to oppose its passing, when it should be acted upon by the legisla- 
ture. This direct interference of the people with the State legis- 
lation, by means of instructions to their representatives, having 
been long discontinued, it is rather a subject of curiosity, in reading 
them now, to see how many of the general topics that would be 
likely to come under the notice of the legislature, were embraced 
within their scope. If representatives held themselves bound by 
their instructions, there was hardly a subject of interest that could 
arise, upon which they were not ready to act at once. This was 
literally the government of the people. The town were as prompt 
in acting upon subjects affecting the whole nation, as upon those of 
local interest alone. And when the subject of the confederacy of 
the colonies, in 1778, was proposed to them, they unanimously ap- 
proved of the measure, and directed their representative "to aid it 
by all that lay in his power." Indeed, there was a surprising una- 
nimity in all their proceedings during this dark and portentous era 
of our history. They vvere, undoubtedly, influenced in their meas- 
ures by a (ew patriotic, public spirited men, who had most ardently 
engaged in the cause of liberty, and who had, withal, judgment and 
sagacity enough " to guide the whirlwind and direct the storm" of 
public feeling, so as to secure the independence of the country and 
the good of posterity. Some of these we have already named, but 
we are conscious that we cannot do them justice. The private 
histories of those men, and the anecdotes connected with them, 
illustrative of their characters and the character of the times in 
which they lived, have been forgotten, and hut little can now be 
recalled. Those were days in which the individual character of 
every man was known and tried. A man must be for or against 
the existing government. In 1778, a list of every man in town, of 
the age of 21 years, and upwards, was made out, and each one 
called upon to take the oath of allegiance to the State, tend those 
who should refuse were to be reported to the town. But, we be- 
lieve, few, if any, had the hardihood to refuse to take the oath at 
that stage of the war. They would hardly have risqued the dan- 
ger of popular power, when the people was the only power to 
which they could have ai)pealed for protection against the sanction 
of such a call. 



56 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

In the year 1787, the troubles by which the State had been 
distracted, had, in a slight degree, subsided, and so many of their own 
population, as well as of the inh.ibitants of almost every town, had 
been involved in that disastrous train of events, known as the 
"Shays war," that the town instructed their representative to vote 
for the pardon of the insurgents, and to endeavor to redress the 
grievances under which the people labored ; among which they 
reckoned the unequal tax upon real and personal estate, the tax on 
polls, and the undue influence of Boston on the legislature, so long 
as it should continue to meet there. 

Several persons were involved in that unhappy insurrection, 
whose names have either been forgotten, or we suppress them, 
from charity to their memories. Their efforts here, were always 
thwarted by the firmness of the "government men," who were 
unwearied in their efforts to quell the spirit of rebellion. Many 
anecdotes are told of the firmness of the friends of the government 
under circumstances the most trying and alarming. They showed 
no disposition to compromise the dignity and interests of the State. 
Early in the winter of 1786, which was a severe one, Day, one of 
the insurgent captains, having been towards Boston upon business 
connected with the rebellion, wgis returning through Leicester, on 
a very severe day, and immediately after a violent snow-storm that 
rendered the roads almost impassable. He was on horseback, and 
stopped at the dwelling house of Mr. Nathan Sargent, near the 
Worcester line, to warm him, and entered the house without cere- 
mony. He laid his sword and hat upon a table, and taking a chair, 
observed that he was going to warm him. "Not until I know who 
you are," said Mr. Sargent, who had silently witnessed bis abrupt 
entrance and conduct, "for these are suspicious times, and I must 
know who 1 entertain." Day, finding him resolute, assumed as 
much dignity and importance as possible, and announced himself 
as " Captain Datj.'''' " Then get out of my house," said Mr. Sar- 
gent, and seizing his hat and sword, threw them into a snow bank, 
and drove Day out after them, who swore that " vengeance should 
liffht on him in less than a fortnight." 

A few persons, taking advantage of the popular excitement, 
during the time of the insurrection, were chosen to offices of profit 
and trust from the Insurgent party; but they almost invariably be- 
came satisfied of their error, as soon as, by intercourse with intelli- 
gent patriots, they saw the dangerous tendency of their measures. 
We cannot, at this day, realize the horrors of the civil war that 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 57 

then threatened, and, in many places, actually distracted the State. 
A house was literally divided against itself. The sound of arms 
was heard in every village, and those who encountered each other 
in hostile array, were often of the same household, or the same 
social circle. Neither sex nor age were exempt from the angry 
passions that prompted these warlike preparations. The women 
were, if possible, more clamorous than the men, whenever they 
took part with the insurgents ; though we might record many hon- 
orable instances, where wives remained firm in their attachment to 
government, while their husbands were ready to go all lengths to 
shake oflf the wholesome restraints of that power. 

It was customary, for the friends of government to wear a fillet 
of white paper in their hats, while the adherents of the opposite 
party adopted, as a badge of distinction, a sprig of evergreen. But, 
fortunately for the country, the evergreen, in the language of one 
in that day, soon withered ; the arm of power scattered the insur- 
gent forces, and the miserable and misguided adherents of Day, 
and Shays, and Wheeler, and Paisons were glad to sue for mercy to 
that power, which they had so lately risen up to crush. And their 
suit was not vain ; policy, as well as a predisposition to clemency, 
spared their lives, and they were suffered to return to their homes 
in peace, though very much to the chagrin and mortification of 
many, whose excited passions called for a sacrifice of expiation for 
the political sins of their adversaries. 

The insurrection of 1786 is rather a matter of state history, than 
that of any particular town. Many are alive who took part with 
the forces sent out by the government to q'lell the rebellion, and 
though they encountered great hardships and fatigue, and, at limes, 
no inconsiderable degree of danger, we doubt whether they would 
desire to be crowned with laurels, although they were conquerers, 
or wish us to publish their names to the world as soldiers, on ac- 
count of their feats of arms in that contest with their misguided 
brethren. It is not so long since those events occurred, that 
they, or those engaged in them, are forgotten. Many remember the 
scenes of uproar and confusion, into which the hitherto peaceable 
dwellings of the citizens were then thrown, by being made the 
quarters for the soldiery ; and they remember too, the anxiety they 
felt at the apprehended attacks from the exasperated insurgents. 
Those, however, whose reason returned as their passions subsided, 
became convinced of their follies and their criminality, and many 
«f thera became the firmest supporters of the government. We, 



58 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

perhaps, have dwelt too long upon this subject, but our remarks, 
though general in their terms, apply so well to the state of" this 
town for several years, that they may be considered as its history, 
unless we should go so minutely into the investigation of the sub- 
ject as to name the actors in the scenes, which, for reasons we have 
offered, we forbear to do. 

In 1787, the Federal Constitution was presented to the states 
for their approbation, and a convention of Delegates from the sev- 
eral towns in Massachusetts was called, to meet at Boston, on the 
second Wednesday of January, 1788, to act upon its adoption, 
and Colonel Samuel Denny was chosen the delegate from Leices- 
ter. The constitution having been accepted, an election of officers 
under it was had, and the votes in this town were, 38 for Hon. Mo- 
ses Gill for Representative in Congress, and 20 for Mr. Gill, and 
19 for Gen. Artemas Ward, for elector of President. 

We are now approaching, in chronological order, those events, 
that have too lately occurred, either to require, or justify, a detail 
of them. Indeed, no event connected with any important series, 
that we are aware of, has occurred, since the adoption of the Fed- 
eral constitution, in this town. Events, however, to which no par- 
ticular interest is attached now, may acquire importance at a future 
day, and their bistory be eagerly sought after. If we had foresight 
enough lo distinguish these, we certainly would cheerfully record 
them here, if for no other reason than to save the future historian 
the many hour's labor of gathering them from the musty pages 
of a town record book. In 1794, minute men were raised, and a 
bounty paid them. But it was upon the ocean alone that our laur- 
els were reaped in that war, and the " Oxford Army" borrowed lit- 
tle lustre from the achievements of Truxton and his associates. 

We happily live at a time when men can look back upon the 
da3'^s of part\' excitement and animosities, that disturbed the tran- 
quillity of the country, with feelings, if not of regret, certainly of 
surprise, at their violence and long duration. It is not within the 
scope of our plan, even if our inclinations prompted it, to trace the 
rise of the two political parlies, which, for nearly thirty years, di- 
vided the public opinion in the United States. This town had its 
share of this excitement, though the degree of acrimony fell far 
short of that in many. They voted resolutions condemning the 
embargo, in 1808, and petitioning the President, (Jefferson) to take 
off the same. In 1812, they passed resolutions, condemning the 
then existing war with Great Britain, and chose a delegate to meet 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 59 

a County convention to consult on measures of public policy. That 
party deiiomioated Federalists were the most numerous in the 
town, while that distinctive title was borne by any party, though 
when in the plenitude of their strength they ever used thoir power 
in a liberal manner, and extended equal courtesy to their political 
opponents. 

The growth and improvement of Leicester, as we have already 
observed, has been constant though gradual. The refinement in 
taste that has been effected in many parts of New England has not 
been entirely inoperative here. The growth of the village here 
has been so rapid, that individuals recollect the time, when from 
four to six houses were all that were erected in the village, where 
now there are nearly forty, besides the public buildings and others 
in progress of erection. The style of architecture is neat, and al- 
though the village can boast of no palace, it is not disfigured with 
one tenement that indicates poverty or want. There have been 
many improvements proposed, and so far as unanimity in design 
can promise success, they will be carried into effect, by which this 
village may vie with any in the country for beauty and neatness. 
A Bank, as we have already stated, was chartered and located in 
this town in the winter of 1826, and when, as is proposed, the 
building for that institution shall have been erected, and the con- 
gregational meeting house removed, so as to enlarge the common 
before it, and produce a proper symmetry in relation to the Acad- 
emy, Leicester may boast of attractions in her scenery, her public 
improvements, enterprize and wealth, which all will be ready to 
acknowledge. 

The situation of the town is healthy, and epidemics of a dan- 
gerous character have seldom prevailed. The average number of 
deaths, annually, may be reckoned at about fifteen, which will bear 
no fair proportion to the annual births. The population of the 
town has annually furnished emigrants to other towns, and other 
States, and there is scarcely a State in the Union that has not 
among its citizens natives of this town. 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICSS. 

We are aware that we have omitted the names of many in the 

foregoing sketches, which a sense of justice would require us to 

have inserted. Nothing but an inability to do any ju««tice to them 

has debarred us from the pleasure of recording them. A few, 

however, whose histories we have been able to obtain, we feci 

ourselves warranted in noticing. 

8 



60 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

SETH WASHBURN. 
Among those who acted a pretty important part in the events 
of our history, was the Hon. Seth Washburn, Esquire, whose name 
we have more than once had occasion to mention. He was a na- 
tive of Bridgewater, and a lineal descendant of John Washburn, 
who was one of the original proprietors and settlers of that town. 
He was a native of England, and arrived in New England within a 
few years after the settlement of Plymouth :* He died in Bridge- 
water, in 1670. Seth Washburn, the subject of this memoir, was 
great grandson of John Washburn. He removed to Leicester 
some time previous to the year 1750, but the precise time is not 
knovvn. Though destitute of a good education, he successively 
held almost every office in the gift of the people of the town, and 
was a mamber of the Senate from this County during the years 
1780, 1733, '84, '85, '86, and '87, in which body he is said to have 
possessed a very considerable influence. He was a firm patriot 
and a most unwavering and decided supporter of the rights of the 
Colonies. After his return from the service which we have spok- 
en of, i;t 1775, he acted as " muster master" during the war, and 
aided t)je prosecution of it by every means in his power — though 
we do not know that he was, for any considerable time afterwards, 
in the service. He had been a soldier in the French war previ- 
ous to 1749, and was ever esteemed a man of great courage and 
self possession. This was particularly observed in the engagement 
on Bunker Hill. Although he came late into the action, and the 
Biitish were then on the point of forcing the redoubt and lines, 
and the Americans, after having expended their ammunition, were 
almost at the mercy of their exasperated foe, he showed no agita- 
tion, but delivered his commands with the utmost coolness and de- 
cision. He had a good deal of native eloquence, and whenever he 
addressed any body of men it was with propriety and effect. His 
business in life was that of a blacksmith until he became engaged 
in public affairs. He was distinguished for his piety and the ur- 
banity of his manners. During the insurrection in 1786, he was 
a decided friend of the Government, and influential in checking the 
spirit that then prevailed inimical to the wholesome restraints of 
the laws. He died at the age of 70, in the year 1794, leaving two 
sons, one of whom, Joseph Washburn, was a member of the com- 

* Whether he was the John Washburn who was Secretary of the Massa- 
chusetts Company, in London, in 1629, we have not been able to ascertain ; 
but froai the name, and the time of bis removal to New England, we presume 
he may have beea the same. 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 61 

pany which marched to Cambridge, in 1775, and he afterwards 
served during the war of the revolution, having received, during 
his service, the commissions of Ensign and Lieutenant in the Conti- 
.nental service. After his return to Leicester from the army, he 
continued to reside there till his death in 1807. The other son of 
Seth Washburn now resides in Putney, Vermont. 
THOMAS NEWH\LL. 

The n?.me of Capt. Thomas Nevvhall, deserves a place among 
those distinguished for their usefulness and public spirit. His 
life presents but few incidents out of which to swell a bio- 
graphical sketch, for it was passed in the peaceful retirement of his 
farm and his native town. He was not, however, inactive there. 
He possessed a vigorous mind and employed its powers for the 
public good, and, so fixr as his inlluence could extend, for the 
good of his country. He was a native of Leicester, and was born 
in 1732, and died in 1814, at the age of 82 years. We have al- 
ready noticed his munificence to the Academy in this town, and 
we cannot better conclude this brief notice than by transcribing the 
judicious epitaph upon his tomb stone. 

" Generous .md patriotic through life : at an advanced age, he 
became a liberal benefactor of the inhabitants of this town, and to 
the literary institution established therein, of which he was one of 
the first trustees." 

He left at his death a very considerable estate, but left no chil- 
dren. 

THOMAS DENNY. 

Another patriotic gentleman whose name we have mentioned, 
and ivho deserves a particular notice, was Thomas Denny, Esq. He 
was a man of uncommonly vigorous mind, and commanded great in- 
fluence and respect, at a time, when talents and integrity rather than 
wealth or family, were the tests of merit. He was the son of Dan- 
iel Denny, whose name we have mentioned as one of the earliest 
settlers of the town, and was born in the year 1724. 

He took a leading part in the affairs of the town early in life, and 
ever afterwards retained and increased his influence among those 
who best knew him. Some of the resolutions adopted by the town 
in regard to the aggressions of the mother Country, were, as we 
have already stated, the productions of his pen, and show, by their 
style and language, an education above that of many of his cotem- 
poraries. He often represented the town in the General Court, 
during the dirticult sessions of that body, before the revolution, 



62 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

when they were constantly embroiled in contests with the repre- 
sentatives of the Royal Government. As an evidence of the con- 
fidence placed in him by his constituents, he was the only member 
chosen from this town to attend the Provincial Congress at Con- 
cord, in 1774. In this body he was one of the most useful and ac- 
tive members, and scarcely any one was listened to with more at- 
tention and respect in the debates of the assembly. After that Con- 
gress was adjourned to Cambridge, he was taken ill, and returned 
to Leicester, where he died, Oct. 23, 1774, at the age of 49. His 
death was a subject of deep regret to all who knew his worth. 
Had he lived, he must have taken a leading part in the events of 
the Revolution, in the incipient stages of which he had so decid- 
ed an interest. He held the office of Colonel of the regiment of 
Militia, in the limits of which he resided, which was then an honor- 
able mark of distinguished merit. 

In connexion with him, we ought to mention his brother, Cor. 
Samuel Denny, who, though he did not take so prominent a part in 
the transactions previous to the Revolution, was a leading man 
during it, and once commanded a regiment of men in the "service." 
He held many public offices in the town, and was a member of the 
Convention in 1788 that accepted the Constitution of the United 
States. He died in 1817, at the age of 86 years. Col. Thomas 
Denny left three children at his death. His son, bearing the same 
name, %vas a highly respectable and influential man during his life. 
He died Dec. 11, 1815. He was, at the time of his death, a mem- 
ber of the Board of Trustees of Leicester Academy, and often dur- 
ing his life represented the town in the General Court, and was, at 
that time, the wealthiest man in the town. 

Col. Samuel Denny left five sons and three daughters. Three 
of his sons are yet living, viz. Nathaniel Paine, William, and Samuel. 
WILLIAM HENSHAW. 

Another individual who deserves honorable notice in this place 
is the late Col. William Henshaw. His biography deserves an 
abler pen, and a more complete detail than we have been able to 
give He was the son of Daniel Henshaw, who was an early 
proprietor of Leicester, and removed there in the year 1748, from 
Boston, where he had till then resided. William, the subject of 
this memoir, was born in Boston, Sept. 30, 1735, and removed with 
his father to Leicester. His opportunities, till his removal, lor an 
education, bad been good, but he received none from schools after 
that period. Yet, by his own industry and application, he acquired 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 63 

a very good English education, and some knowledge of the Latin 
and Greek languages. After his removal to Leicester, his time 
was mostly employed upon a farm. In 1759, he went, as a Lieu- 
tenant, into the service against the French and Indians, and served 
through that eventful campaign. Having many friends in Boston, 
he early became acquainted with the views and feelings of the 
patriots and ardently engaged in the cause of liberty. Many of the 
resolutions and "instructions" of the people of Leicester were 
drawn up, as we have already stated, by Col. Henshaw and evince 
a good literary taste while they exhibit an extremely accurate 
knowledge of the events that were transpiring as well as the ab- 
stract rights of the colonies. He was a member of the jury, who, 
at the April terra of the Superior Court, in holden at Worcester, 
1774, remonstrated against Chief Justice Oliver's acting as Judge 
and refused to act as jurors in case he did. The remonstrance was 
drawn with great spirit, and was from the pen of Col. Henshaw, 
we believe, as a draught of it in his hand writing is among his pa- 
pers. In June, 1775, he was commissioned by the Provincial Con- 
gress, Adjutant General of the forces that had been then raised. 
This was the first appointment to that office, of any one after the 
authority of the mother country was renounced. He faithfully per- 
formed the duties of this office till the arrival of Gen. Gates, at 
Cambridge, who had been appointed Adjutant General, by the Gen- 
eral Congress : and he continued to perform the duties of the office 
till the end of the campaign, as an assistant to General Gates. On 
the first of January, 1776, he was commissioned by Congress as a 
Lieutenant Colonel of the 12th Regiment of Infantry, and was with 
his regiment during the campaign of 1776, in and near New York. 
The precise time of his discharge from the army we cannot now 
state. But after his retuin, he retired to his farm in Leicester. 
He often held the highest offices in the gift of his townsmen, and 
always, we believe, faithfully performed the duties of his station. 
He died, at the age of 85, in February, 1820. He retained his 
mental faculties till his death. A few years previous to that time. 
Gov. Brooks applied to him for information concerning certain 
questions relating to the Battle of Bunker Hill, and we transcribe 
his letter in return, in order to show the part he took in the trans- 
actions of that day, and to exhibit to what degree he retained the 
vigor of his mind at the age of 82. 

" Dear Sir — When Breed's Hill was taken possession of by our 
troops, I was at home. The best information of the action I had 



64 HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 

iVoin General Pomeroy, who was at the rail fence above the works 
our troops threw up. He informed me, they stuffed hay between 
the rails of the fence, to prevent the enemy discovering them, and 
ordered the soldiers to retain their fire till they advanced within 
six or seven rods, then gave the orders to fire, which caused them 
to retreat. The enemy formed and attacked them the second time, 
and retreated in like manner. They formed, advanced, and rushed 
on to the fence the third time, and obliged our troops to retreat, 
after they had lost a large number of their men, and Major Pit- 
cairn at their head. The Americans went to Breed's Hill on the 
night of the 16th of June, the battle commenced on the 17th, and 
our forces returned to Cambridge. I believe there was only ver- 
bal orders given to go to Breed's Hill, and that they had neither 
cannon nor field pieces. Gen. Ward, the early part of May, request- 
ed Col. Gridley, Mr. Richard Devens, one of the committee of safe- 
ty in Charlestown, and myself, to view the heights from the camp 
to Charlestown. We did so, and made a written report, as follows : 
viz. 1. To build a Fort on Prospect Hill. 2. To proceed to Bun- 
ker's Hill, and fortify it. 3. To Breed's Hill, and do the same. 
Our object was, if obliged to retire from Breed"'s Hill, the fort at 
Bunker's Hill would cover our retreat with the cannon, and drive 
their ships out of the rivers; also would prevent the enemy from 
keeping possession of Charlestown. Why the report was not ap- 
proved, 1 cannot say — perhaps others recommended to proceed 
first to Charlestown. What returns I am possessed of, will send 
with the orderly book, which contains General Ward's orders." 

Signed " Wm. Henshaw," and addressed to " His Excel- 
lency John Brooks, Esq." 

Our only object is to present the outlines of a memoir, and not 
to eulogize, and we cannot better conclude this, than by extracting 
a part of an obituary notice, published at the time of his death, in 
the Boston Palladium. 

" Few have lived so little known to the world, and few so de- 
serving of its praise, as Col. Henshaw. His character was of that 
imassuming cast which shrinks from the scrutiny of observation, 
and is better pleased with the consciousness, than with the appear- 
ance of acting right. He was equally an object of admiration in 
his military and private life. He served as a Lieutenant in the 
French war, and as Colonel through the struggle of our revolution. 
He was always distinguished for his clearness in council and intre- 
nidity in action, and we find honorable mention of him in several 



HISTORY OF LEICESTER. 65 

histories of those times. After the Revolution, he retired to Lei- 
cester, and, entering on the business of private life, became an ex- 
emplary husband and father." 

The foregoing is but an extract from the notice of his death, 
and we should have been glad to have transcribed in this place the 
tribute to his memory, which was paid at the time of his decease, 
by his friend, the late Gov. Brooks, but the newspaper containing 
it has been mishiid, and we must content ourselves with this short 
notice, till more leisure on our own part, or some abler pen, shall 
do his memory more ample justice. He was not, alone, so promi- 
nent, as to deserve notice in this place, of the sons of Daniel Hen- 
shaw. His brother, Joseph, who I'esided here, was equally active 
in all public concerns, and commanded as great influence and re- 
spect. He often represented the town in the General Court, and 
was, for a considerable time, chairman of the committee of safety 
in the county of Worcester, which was formed from the several 
committees of safety and correspondence of the towns. 

David, another brother, though younger than the foremention- 
ed brothers, early took part in the events of the last years of the 
revolution, and was especially active in the events which succeed- 
ed it, having ever been a firm supporter of the Government, and a 
friend to good order. Both William and David Henshaw were, for 
many years, acting magistrates in the county, and distinguished for 
their intelligence and independence in performing their duties in 
that capacity. 

Both the hrothers left pretty numerous families. One of the 
sons of the latter is, at present, a member of the Senate of this state 
from the county of Suffolk. 

JOSEPH ROBERTS. 

In our sketches of the Ecclesiastical History of this town, we 
spoke of the Rev. Mr. Roberts and were unable to give any further 
account of him than we there stated. But we have since received 
a more particular account of him by the politeness of a gentleman 
of high respectability* which we subjoin here. The Rev. Joseph 
Roberts was born in Boston, at the foot of Copp's Hill, in 1720. He 
graduated at Cambridge in 1741, and was probably from a family 
in no way distinguished, as his name is found among the last of the 
class that graduated that year. In 1754, he was settled at Leices- 
ter and dismissed in 1762, as we have already stated. He soon af- 

* Isaac Fisk, Esq. of Weston, Register of Probate for the CountT of Mid- 
dlesex. 



N 13 1907 



66 HISTOHY OF LEICESTER. 

ter removed to Weston and occasionally preached in that and the 
neighboring' towns. He purchased tlie estate about the same time 
upon which he resided till his death. He took an active part dur- 
ing the Revolution, as one of the committee of the town to enlist 
and provide for the soldiers. He was a member of the Conven- 
tion that formed the Constitution of Massachusetts, and among his 
papers, alter his death, was found a draught,in his own hand writing, 
of a frame of Government, many of the principles of which are in- 
corporated into our present Constitution, and he is believed to have 
taken an active and elBcient part in forming and adopting this Con- 
stitution. He was often afterwards a representative from Weston. 
He became connected with a cunning and shrewd speculator in 
business, and, in consequence, became involved in land suits and lost a 
considerable part of his property. His temper thus became sour, 
and in the latter part of his life he became extremely avaricious. 
He died like a beggar and after his death there were found in his 
chambers several bags of money which had been hoarded up for 
years; as, on removing them, the bottoms oftiie bags were loo much 
decayed to hold their contents. He denied himself, for many years 
betbre his death, the conveniences and even the necessaries of life. 
AD the clothing he possessed at his death, would have disgrac- 
ed the meanest beggar in the streets. Such was his love of money 
that he suffered himself to be committed to jail on a judgment 
growing out of his connexion with the speculator before mention- 
ed, and remained in jail tvvo or three years, till he compelled his 
creditor, in this way, to relinquish a part of the debt for the sake of 
recovering the remainder. Mr. Roberts possessed more than ordi- 
nary natural powers of mind, but they became debased by the sor- 
didness of his disposition. He died a bachelor, at the advanced age 
of 91, in April, 1811. 



JVote to the Rtader. An apology is due for presenting the foreg'oing sketrh- 
es in so many parts imperfect. We had become pledged to furnish them with- 
in a given period, not suspecting at the time the labor of preparing them. 
A multiplicity of engagements, in addition to the shortness of the time for 
preparation, has compelled us to present these in a form less perfect than 
we had hoped, when we assumed the task. This apology, while it is due to 
the reader will, we hope, in some measure, screen from the severity of criti- 
cism. THE WRITER. 



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